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Show ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF WATER DEVELOPMENT 43 over from year to year is vital to any well- rounded and continuous program. We know that the present system which brings periodical changes in the administration of the water system and attendant changes in policy and viewpoint is responsible for a large part of our present difficulty." ( The Salt Lake Tribune) " In this city there is a need for the water problem to be under the care and general direction of a nonpartisan board, appointed by the city fathers, but with long- term of office, not changing with each administration but alternately so that the continuity of the board and its plans is maintained. Water problems must be studied years in advance and a change of administration should not throw the water department as far as its long view policy is c ncerned into confusion. In this m ler it is manifestly better for the CJ,: : ens to decide on whether they need a water board." ( The Deseret News) PREPARATION AND PASSAGE OF THE " METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT ACT" The first draft of the Metropolitan Water District Act was prepared by C. C. Parsons and was afterwards amended in some particulars by A. V. Watkins and Fisher Harris. It was introduced in the Legislature by Grant Macfarlane, then a member of that body and a member of the City's legal department. It was strongly recommended by Governor Henry H. Blood, and became a law in the form presented, on March 13, 1935. ( Chapter 110, Laws of Utah 1935.) THE ACT SUSTAINED BY THE SUPREME COURT OF UTAH It was deemed advisable before taking any action under this act to have its validity in every respect passed upon by the highest court of 59. Editorial discussion of City- Water District relationships, by The Salt Lake Tribune of February 13, 1936. The basis of this relationship was established by the Utah Supreme Court in a decision rendered July 16, 1936. t £ alt § v& it pibtroe VmXJMD BVBBY MOBWWO BT TOB BALT LAB3 TBIBUmi PUBUBHDfO CO. Salt Lake City, Utah, Thursday. Morning, February 13,1936. For Unity of Purpose IF THERE is any one thing which has come out of recent discussions of the Salt Lake City water program it is an understanding that close cooperation between Salt Lake City and the metropolitan water district is of the utmost necessity. Under existing laws and statutes, one cannot function without the other and, because of this, they ntust work together, while recognizing and maintaining their separate identities. Salt Lake City, by the law and the Constitution, is prohibited from selling or leasing its water resources to the metropolitan district. On the other hand, it is more or less apparent that Salt. Lake City has reached the end of its rope, so far as it can finance water projects of any considerable proportions for the future. If either one or both should attempt to function without regard for the other, the whole water program would be doomed to serious delay, if not absolute failure. It is apparent that the metropolitan water district alone can raise the funds necessary for major water expansion and improvements. With a direct obligation to the people, it, of course, would want to exercise immediate supervision over the expenditure of funds raised by it. It could ill afford to assume the position that it was merely raising funds with which the city might purchase new water. On the other hand, the city officials could not afford to abandon an interest, the responsibility for which is placed upon them directly by the law. In the light of this situation, it . is pleasing to note that both the city and the district have assured each other of their willingness to cooperate in the main project of enlarging and improving the Salt Lake City water supply. Mayor E. B. Erwin, on behalf of the commission, assured the board that it would cooperate to the fullest extent, without assuming. to dictate tha action which the district may take or the personnel it may; select. The district board, in return, iterates a desire to cooperate with the city commission and courts any suggestions which the city may desire to offer. This, at least, provides the basis for a harmonious working organization, which is the first assurance to the citizenship, that of obtaining water for Salt Lake City, will not be neglected or made subservient to political expediency. With this unity of purpose and a sincere effort on the part of all those engaged in this work, whether employed by the city or the district, Salt Lake City soon should be on the way to a well- ordered solution of- existing water problems, particularly as they apply to- the future needs of the city. |
