OCR Text |
Show Municipal and Industrial Water Requirements Although the first diversions of water in Utah were primarily for irrigation, municipal and industrial uses are increasing rapidly as Utah becomes more urbanized and industrialized. Municipal and industrial use now has the higher priority. Historically, industrial development from the established agricultural base has occurred primarily along the Wasatch Front area. ( The Wasatch Front is, roughly, the densely populated area along the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains from Brigham City on the north to Santaquin on the south.) The 1930- 70 annual growth rate for all of Utah has been about 1.9 percent, compared to about 2.2 percent for the Wasatch Front area. The trend in the rural counties for this same period has been a decrease in population of about 0.8 percent annually. As a result of this growth pattern, more than three- fourths of Utah's population resides along the Wasatch Front. This trend is expected to continue, creating additional employment opportunities and the need for an increasing amount of municipal and industrial water, unless the trend is stopped or reversed. Population projections are useful in estimating future growth and the attendant municipal and industrial water requirements. Population projections vary according to the basic data used and the assumptions madec All projections made to date indicate a positive growth rate for the State of Utah, particularly during the period 1970- 2020. The Harline study1"' was conducted for the Bureau of Reclamation in 1964 by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research of the University of Utah. This projection was used in the Bonneville Unit Definite Plan Report ^ because it was the most current projection available at the time. Since that time, several other projections have been made. The most recent is a 1971- 72 State of Utah study1' 5 made by an interdisciplinary Federal- State agency task force brought together for the express purpose of deriving an up- to- date population projection for the state. This population projection and others ( Fig. A- 2) vary by about 1 million persons by the year 2020. Since all projections indicate a substantial growth and a related water requirement, the amount of water provided by the Bonneville Unit could only supply the requirement for a specific time period, depending on the actual population growth. For example, according to the 1966 Harline curve, Bonneville Unit water would be required for Salt Lake County about 1972 and would satisfy the requirements until about 1990. According to the more conservative 1971 OBERS curve, Bonneville Unit water would not be required until about 1980 and would fulfill the needs until about 2005o The projected water requirements by time frame, based on the State of Utah ( agency task force) population projection, are given in Table A- 2. 7 |