Lake Powell Archives

OPINION: Andrew Kramer: Pipeline Project Based on Inaccurate Studies

July 31, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Gayle Falkenthal /Salt Lake Tribuneby Andrew Kramer

If constructed, the proposed 140-mile Lake Powell Pipeline would be a multi-billion dollar project, one of the most expensive in state history.

Although the pipeline would only serve Washington County, its proponents want the entire state to subsidize the LPP. As taxpayers who’d be required to pay for this mammoth project, we deserve accurate information and well-reasoned analysis that demonstrates the need and economic viability of the pipeline. Instead, studies by the Division of Water Resources (DWR) and the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD) are biased, incomplete and don’t fairly consider feasible, much less costly alternatives.

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Opinion: Nevada Should Challenge Utah’s Move for a Lake Powell Pipeline

July 21, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /The Nevada Independent by Richard Spotts

In politics, what goes around can and sometimes should come around. A case in point is the Desert National Wildlife Refuge and Lake Powell Pipeline.

Utah’s infamous Rep. Rob Bishop, known for his abysmally bad voting record on public lands and environmental issues, recently pulled off a “sneak attack” on Nevada in the House Armed Services Committee. On July 1st, reportedly without consulting with any Nevada officials, he put forward an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act legislation to give the Air Force primary control over approximately 850,000 acres of the DNWR.

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Utah Pipeline Likely Won’t Affect Lake Mead

July 16, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /Boulder City Reviewby Celia Shortt Goodyear

A proposed pipeline in Utah could divert approximately 86,000 acre feet of water annually from Lake Mead, but it will most likely not harm the overall water level in the reservoir.

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Opinion: We’ve Stabilized the Colorado River – For Now. But Much Tougher Work Lies Ahead

June 30, 2020/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /AZ Centralby Tom Buschatzke and Ted Cooke

When U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman hailed the Drought Contingency Plans signed last year as “historic,” we wholeheartedly agreed. The plans were the product of years of discussion, negotiation and compromises among water users throughout the Colorado River Basin.

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Lake Powell Reached Capacity 40 Years Ago. What Do the Coming Decades Hold?

June 25, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /KUNC Coloradoby Lexi Peery & KUER

The water has made development possible and is used for farms, homes and businesses. Meanwhile, recreation has risen to over 4 million annual visitors in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, with tourists bringing in over $420 million to local communities.

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Public Comment for Lake Powell Pipeline Open, Again, Until September

June 11, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /KJZZ Arizonaby McKenzie Stauffer

Comments, questions and concerns are now being accepted, again, for the Lake Powell Pipeline. This comes after the Bureau of Reclamation issued the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the pipeline, which is designed to pump water to Washington County.

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Lake Powell Pipeline Will ‘Make the River Angry,’ Southern Paiutes Warn as Feds Release Analysis

June 9, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Brian Maffly

Any potential alignment of the Lake Powell pipeline would pass through lands that hold spiritual and cultural significance to Southern Paiutes, who fear the project would jeopardize their culture and upset the balance of nature.

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Cash Flows: How Investors Are Banking On the West’s Water Scarcity

June 4, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /KUNC Coloradoby Aspen Journalism

In the arid West, scarce water supplies are growing scarcer. Climate change is shrinking snowpack in river basins throughout the region, leaving the future water supplies for cities, industries and farmers uncertain.

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Opinion: Massive Lake Powell Pipeline Project Affects All Utahns, Not Just Washington County

June 4, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Paul Van Dam

People generally think of the Lake Powell Pipeline as a southern Utah project, which it is. But we should not forget that the project, first conceived in 1995 and mandated by the 2006 Lake Powell Pipeline Development Act, would burden all Utahns.

Utah would bond for 50 years or more and Washington County would repay, only slowly, tying up much needed state funds at a time when the our ability to balance the budget will be challenging.

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New Front Opens in the Fight Over the Lake Powell Pipeline

June 2, 2020/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Brian Maffly

The water rights behind the proposed Lake Powell pipeline are not actually coming from the project’s namesake lake, but rather from the major reservoir upstream on the Green River.

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