Issues Paper, Central Utah Project

Page 82

21 h<j/-o 77. of Utah.* The study concludes:* res Generally the model shows an increase in *]$ QoO A/ idential and municipal water use (70,900 ' u ( £~ -> 6/ af//yr^ a n d sPe c i a l use (10,000 af/yr) . A lo OOo ^/ V £> }0OO ft decrease is shown in irrigation use (65,000 ~ '~~l ' / % <TOO ./ af/yr) and stock use (3,500 af/yr). The net ^ • ' 0 ° *J __j 3 _., / overall water use shows an increase of 12,000 / r S O O <z/ a f/yr o r a n increase of about 2 percent (by _. £©• C(5c? 6 *_ /) the year 1990)." "_ ; . •/* 1°-° <6 The study then lists six recognizable, Bonnes.lie Basin ' sources which might be tapped to provide the additional culinary water. These total 280,000 af/yr.*** In addition to these, there could have been added the 68,500 af/yr of irrigation water which urban development will "free up." This makes a total of 348,500 af/yr of available water re­sources of varying quality and cost to manage to cover the projected deficit of 71,000 af/yr in culinary water.**** The 71,000 af/yr deficit need not necessarily appear. If conservation measures including pricing policies combined with natural demographic trends towards higher density living situations could reduce per capita water use 8 percent over the next 17 years (1/2 of 1 percent decline each year), the deficit would never come into existence. The sensitivity of household consumption of water to price levels (the price elasticity of demand) has been estimated for urban households in Northern Utah. It indicates that a 10 percent increase in Ksdr J :0p. cit ** Op. cit., p. 40. ***0p. cit., p. 40 ****Most of this water could not be used directly for culinary purposes because of its quality. However, low cost treatment, ex­changes for higher quality water, etc. could make much of it avail­able for culinary purposes at far lower cost than CUP water.