Cost and efficiency have traditionally been critical factors behind most infrastructure and construction projects in the West, but lately they have been altogether forgotten when it comes to water planning. Across the West, proposed high-stakes projects to capture water resources are generating well-deserved controversy because every one of them ignores cheaper, more sensible alternatives that are more sustainable in the long term. Utah is no exception. The proposed 139-mile Lake Powell pipeline would take a $1.2 billion chunk of future statewide sales tax revenues for a water project primarily serving just one region of the state, Washington County. A $1.2 billion expenditure is equal to about 30 percent of the entire 2012 budget for the State of Utah.The Utah Taxpayers Association argues that obligating future sales tax revenue to specific needs — especially in this weak economy — is bad fiscal policy. Other critics argue that the project drains not just Lake Powell water, but much-needed funds from schools and other state priorities. And legislative opponents argue that it's fundamentally unwise public policy to tie the hands of future legislators.
In Washington County, as with proposed water mega-projects in Nevada and Colorado, far cheaper and simpler alternatives are there for the taking. Alternatives like conservation, among others. These alternatives for meeting future water needs and supporting growth don't tie current and future residents to massive debt. Deseret News