Utah State Group: Lake Powell Pipeline. Meaghan Stertzer Jon Flechsenhaar Christian Nelson Brandon Shepherd

Transcription

1 Utah State Group: Lake Powell Pipeline Meaghan Stertzer Jon Flechsenhaar Christian Nelson Brandon Shepherd

2 Utah 1922 Colorado River Compact 23% water right equalling to 1.71 million acre feet/year 2nd fastest growing state in the nation 2nd Driest State within the West Average Precipitation = 13in /year, (61.5 million acre-feet of water) ~82% of water demand is in Greater Wasatch Area

3 Population As of July 1st Population is at 2.9 million 46,000 of which came in the last year 10,000 net in-migration and the remaining 36,000 from natural births Population increases are occurring in hydrologically stressed areas Water Managers stress the need for water

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5 Geography & Hydrology Proximity: Utahns live close to mountains Many original settlements are located near large aquifers Water is used close to its source Transport short distances Gravity: Water stored in mountain snowpacks (Uinta and Wasatch mountain ranges) Gravity Transport: reduces transport costs and construction of storage facilities Underground, aboveground storage on hillsides vs. Water Towers Purity: Water replenished each winter Generally quite pure and requires very little purification

6 Geography and Hydrology

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8 Water Policy Prior Appropriation and Beneficial Use: Utah Colorado River Storage Project Act of 1956: Beneficial Consumptive Use Water for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Storage Capacity of 30.6 million acre ft. and 5 Billion Kilowatt Hours Water Transfers Traded 370,000 AF in 2012 Trend of water rights and leases shifting from Ag to Municipalities & Industry not completely using their allocated water right Originally allocated 23% at 1.7 Million Acre ft. in 1922 at high flow More realistically the allocation totals to just 1.37 Million acre ft. Even so they still have 420,000 acre ft. yet to be used Right to divert water and put to use

9 History of Development Late 19th Century Early pioneers began diverting and allocating water rights appreciation of water resources, difficult to divert and scarcity Early 20th Century Bureau of Reclamation collaboration with Utah communities Construction of several power plants, dams, diversions etc. Central Utah Project, the Provo River Project (Deer Creek Dam), the Weber River Project, and the Strawberry Valley Project, and the Glen Canyon Dam (Creating Lake Powell Smaller Developments:Recapture Dam (Blanding, Utah), Piute Reservoir and DMAD Dam on Sevier River, Porcupine Reservoir in Cache Valley Today Proposed Lake Powell Pipeline to Washington County 86,000 acre ft.

10 Current water use 82% of water used for Ag Ag Land is being evaluated: 1.2% of GDP 18% for M&I

11 Climate Change All studies point to less available water 20Draft%20Climate%20Change%20Study%20Report.pdf

12 What s the problem? Continued investment in large (BLM) business as usual style infrastructure to solve water needs Extremely expensive when there are free/low cost investments to be made first! Conservation and Efficiency

13 Lake Powell Pipeline Washington County Water Conservancy District 139 mile pipeline Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir ~69-86,000 acre feet Estimating $1.4 - $2.4 billion Pumping facilities near Glen Canyon Dam, 2000 ft. Hydroelectric generation facilities, recoupe

14 Lake Powell/St. George Pipeline Approved, May 2006 March 2008 begin FERC licensing and NEPA compliance 2015 Licenses, Permits, ROD expected 2020, Construction begins 2025, water delivery begins Estimate Billion for pipeline

15 org/learn/wiki/en/washington_county, _Utah Washington County Agriculture Tourism Zion National Park Avg Precipitation = 8in State Avg = 13in Desert and Mountain Climate Among highest growing population Ground and Surface Water Resources

16 Stakeholders Water Providers Washington, Iron, Kane Counties Elected Officials City Planners Utah Division of Drinking water Private Industry General Public Bureau of Land Management Hydro Generators at Lake Powell org/downloads/projects/proposedprojects/lake%20powell% 20pipeline/PipelineWinter09.pdf

17 Solutions 1% Conservation Rate 90 gpcd in the Residential Sector by 2060 Indoor Residential Water Use Target 35 gpcd Outdoor Residential Water Use Target 55 gpcd Increasing Block Conservation Rate Structure Rainwater Harvesting Meter All Water Embed Water Efficiency into Public Spaces Water Providers Elected Officials City Planners General Public WCWCD* Nuding, Amelia. The Local Waters Alternative to the Lake Powell Pipeline. Western Resource Advocates. 29 Jun

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19 Modeling Values Assessing values is difficult Systematic evaluations from multidisciplinary perspectives Vital for decision/policy makers and stakeholders Visual models aim to increase transparency of dynamics for dialogue

20 Integrated Dam Assessment Model (IDAM) Considerations for social and environmental sustainability (UN 92) Biophysics- biodiversity, natural value, CO2 equivalent Socioeconomics- health, hydropower, cultural change Geopolitics- historical tensions, political boundaries, irrigation 27 Factors (9 each) Subjective Valuation and Objective Metrics Models represent both costs and benefits

21 Adjustable to contextually appropriate impacts and projects

22 System Dynamics Visualizing large variable systems of inputs and outputs Experimenting with abstraction, complexity, and completeness Inexperienced participants can gain practical knowledge, common understanding Shows trends over time

23 Las Vegas Facilitated programs and outreach

24 A good model allows for participant (Stakeholder) strategies to be tested As accurate as current science allows, uses projections to make assumptions Results show general misconceptions about local systems Portray feedback relationships, credit programs, climate/conservation effects, other* combined strategies are best

25 Outreach and Education 266 education programs in Utah 58% directed towards children Organizations lack funding and depend on volunteers Volunteers require training through cooperative programs

26 Utah Masters Naturalist Program Goal: To develop a corps of well-informed master naturalists who provide education, outreach and service to promote citizen stewardship of natural resources within their communities Classroom and field based courses More targeted audience- ametuer and professional naturalists, grassroot organizations Significantly higher knowledge after program Inspired to learn more and encourage others to participate Connect to organizations and educational resources