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ARCHIVE
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Special Legislative Edition
February 23, 2006
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Economic Development
January 30, 2006
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2005 Recap
December 12, 2005
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Elections and Voting
October 26, 2005
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Comprehensive School Reform
September 28, 2005
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Impacts of a Minimum Wage Increase
August 30, 2005
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Summer Announcements
July 18, 2005
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The Aging Face of Utah
June 2, 2005
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NCLB v. UPASS
April 29, 2005
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2005 Legislative Session Summary
March 29, 2005
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Utah Waters Commission
by Ken Embley
I know—there is no such thing as a Utah Waters Commission—at
least not yet!
In 1991, a cooperative agreement among seven water and
wastewater agencies in Southern Nevada created The Southern Nevada Water
Authority (SNWA). From its inception, the purpose of the SNWA was to seek new
water resources for Southern Nevada, manage existing and future water
resources, construct and manage regional water facilities and promote
conservation.
Recently, the SNWA published their 2006 Water Resource Plan.
The plan provides a comprehensive overview of water resources and demands in
Southern Nevada. As with previous plans, an underlying principle of the 2006
Water Resource Plan is to maximize the use of existing resources, while
maintaining the ability to adjust planning as circumstances or conditions
warrant.
To help facilitate fruition of its purpose, the SNWA
launched Integrated Water Planning (IWP) in 2004. The belief is the development
of some or all of the in-state water and related resources has potential
implications for a wide range of operational issues, including treatment and
delivery system capacities, return-flow credits, reclaimed water flows to Lake
Mead, project funding and water quality—as well as for larger issues such as
environmental protection and rural economic development. The IWP process
included the formation of an Integrated Water Planning Advisory Committee
(IWPAC) in August 2004. In September 2005, the IWPAC finalized 22
recommendations and presented them to the SNWA Board of Directors on November
17, 2005.
Well, it appears that Nevada has its “collective efforts” all
together in terms of water. Are their collective efforts a shining example of
what we ought to be doing in Utah? Do their collective efforts serve notice that
when it comes to water, Nevada intends to be a dominating regional player? The
answers to both hypothetical questions are a resounding yes!
It seems to me that the independent efforts of water related
agencies throughout the state of Utah do a good to outstanding job of meeting
their independent missions and satisfying their particular stakeholder demands.
These independent efforts warrant fair recognition for a job well done.
However, Utah—we have a problem! Our water agencies operate
independently of one another and some might say that, at times, different
agencies will compete in order to achieve their independent missions and
satisfy stakeholder demands.
The problem is a reliance on independent efforts and that,
in turn, may mean a failure to act collectively where the conditions and
circumstances calls for a collective effort to effectively and efficiently
address and resolve water issues.
Again, I am not advocating the abandonment of stellar
independent agency efforts. If anything, we should maintain and continue
development of agencies where their missions add value for the people of Utah. What
I am suggesting/recommending is the creation of a means to facilitate our
collective efforts in managing water. My recommendation is that the Governor
work with water agency heads, legislators and other interested persons to
create and properly fund a Utah Waters Commission.
The primary purpose of the Utah Waters Commission would be
to create means and methods to ensure a collective effort between and among our
Utah independent water interests. A Utah Waters Commission can create plans
that provide a comprehensive overview of water resources and demands in Utah. A
Utah Waters Commission can work with independent agencies to ensure a
collective effort as we seek new water resources for Utah, manage existing and
future water resources, construct and manage water facilities and promote
conservation.
Nevada has its “collective acts” together with their 2006
Water Resource Plan. When it comes to water issues, Nevada is in a position to
be a dominate player in the region. In my opinion, Utah needs to take a good
hard look at what Nevada is doing and work to enable our collective water
efforts to do such things as develop a water resource plan for Utah. In my
opinion, we need a Utah Waters Commission.
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