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Show MUNICIPAL ASPECTS HONORABLE GEORGE D. KEYSER When Salt Lake City made its filing on the water from the Jordan and Weber rivers, with the right to store in the west side of Salt Lake it was done in order to help this project along, with the idea that all neighboring cities from Brigham City to Garfield would be asked to join in the diking program; as they would all gain greatly by a fresh water lake, and that their help in putting the proposition over would be indispensable. As we all know, one of the greatest problems that has to be met in the growth of any city is water supply. New York was forced to its great Croton system, Los Angeles built the Owens Valley system, and now is engaged in the Hoover Dam development, San Francisco has its Hetch Hetchy. Salt Lake City, as well as Ogden, Kaysville, Layton, Bountiful and Garfield have water problems, and the City Official, who wishes to provide the basic water supply for future growth has looked to the mountain streams, but these are practically used to their maximum capacity. There is no large source of water that can be brought into this valley, and when the proposal of diking Salt Lake and making a clear reservoir of the western part of it was submitted, I am sure all you gentlemen saw the wonderful possibilities for growth of your communities. Modern industry uses an immense amount of water. The concentration and refining of our wonderful mineral resources in our own state will give work to many thousands of additional men, and the use of this water on the rich land around the lake will produce crops sufficient to more than take care of them. These new industries will help not only with their payrolls, but with their taxes; so that we can reduce the tax rate in our various cities. We have a wonderful state with unlimited possibilities for growth, provided we have water, and this project seems to assure us* of plenty cf that most essential base to build on. Then, too, the recreational possibilities of such a lake would be very great, boating, fishing, duck shooting will bring people here and hold them. I feel that such a body of fresh water will be a great help to Saltair. It will make the lake more popular, and Saltair will 3ee prosperity along with the rest of the state. With cheap power it will be possible to pump this water to many of our cities, and we may even see the day when filtration plants are put in, and this water is used for municipal diking purposes as many people use that of the Connecticut and Mississippi Rivers and Lake Michigan. If the price of copper should go up this year, enough to make it desirable for the Utah Copper, and other copper producers, to start production, the present condition of Utah Lake makes it impossible, as in good years the Utah Copper used close to 90,000 acre feet of water. Whereas this year the engineers estimated only 160,000 feet will be available, all - 24 - |