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Show H. ALTERNATIVES TO PROPOSED ACTION The dictionary defines " alternative" as a proposition or situation offering a choice between two incompatible things. From this definition, it appears unlikely that any alternative could ever achieve all the desired goals. Choices must be made on the basis of the various values assigned. The purpose of this section ( Section H) is to define and display all reasonable alternatives to the proposed action for comparative evaluation. 159 In a 1966 publication the National Research Council listed several kinds of variable factors in watershed use planning, each of which requires consideration of alternatives. These include ( l) alternatives of objective ( 2) engineering alternatives, ( 3) management alternatives, { k) institutional alternatives, ( 5) timing alternatives, and ( 6) alternatives of location. All of these have been considered in the. plan formulation procedures applied to the Bonneville Unit and should be considered as the alternatives are reviewed, particularly the alternatives of objective, timing, and location. As the Bonneville Unit plan was being formulated with the objective of developing a water supply for various uses, a multitude of alternative dams and reservoir sites, types of conveyances, and structure alinements were studied. During the final design and construction stage, to make each feature structurally sound and minimize its impact on the natural environment, further consideration would be given to factors such as location, foundation conditions, availability of earth and other construction materials, and esthetic compatibility. All alternative features have been cost estimated to Bureau of Reclamation standards and were evaluated on a comparable cost basis. An expenditure of $ 85,556,000 has already been made on features of the proposed plan that are completed or under construction. In addition, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District has expended $ 8,705,000 on the Jordan Water Treatment Plant. This large expenditure already incurred must be considered in making decisions related to further construction of the proposed plan versus any of the alternatives. These expenditures are not sunk costs, which are irrelevant to future decision, but incurred costs to be repaid by the water users or borne by the general public. 1. Alternative Sources of Water The alternative sources of water are classified as ( l) development of other sources within the Bonneville Unit area, ( 2) importation from other drainages within the Bonneville Basin and in Utah, and ( 3) augmentation of the Bonneville Basin water supply from another basin. 488 |