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Show VIII ALTERNATIVES TO THE PROPOSED ACTION The alternative of halting construction after completion of feature.- currently underway has not been thoroughly explored. The Bureau of Reclamation has failed to demonstrate the need for further development nor have they considered alternatives to meet further demands. They have also given only cursory treatment to the future increases in demand for water in the Uinta Basin for municipal and industrial The following alternatives have not been thoroughly discussed and are proposed for consideration* 1. No additional construction beyond that already underway,, This would mean the elimination of the Currant Creek Dam and any extension of the Strawberry Aqueduct eastward. That level of development might be combined with the Jordanelle Reservoir to provide municipal and industrial water to the Wasatch Front if other means prove to be infeasible and If a real demand necessitates such a development. 2. Ground water sources may be developed to me*%t future needs in the Wasatch Front. The U..S. Geological Survey and the State Division of Water Resources have indicated the availability of additional ground water up to 150,000 acre-feet per year. That is considerably less expensive to develop than the $1,500 per acre foot development cost of the Bonneville Unit. Also, virtually all of the environmental losses would be avoided as would be the case with the other alternatives below, 3. There are 65,000 acre-feet of water available from the Weber Basin Project, Bureau of Reclamation built that project with public funds and cannot sell the water to irrigators because of high cost. That water could be marketed in Salt Lake County and would be cheaper than Bonneville Unit water. Thus, water which was paid for by the public and is now sitting idle could be used at low economic cost and very little environmental impact. This would provide most of the M § I water scheduled to be delivered by the Bonneville Unite 4. Phreatophyte control, especially around Utah Lake could result in savings of 56,400 acre feet per year according to the Hydro-logic inventory of the Utah Lake Drainage Area published by the Utah Division of Water Resources and the Utah Water Research Laboratory in 1969. Phreatophyte control costs are very low compared to Bonneville Unit costs, 5. Full development of Wasatch Front streams could yield 56,000 acre-feet per year of additional water supply, The authorized Little Deli Project alone would develop several thousand acre-feet of municipal water supply, 6. Salt Lake City has an additional 47,200 acre feet per year of water available from Deer Creek Reservoir. In the years 1964- 1968 they have used only 24% of their allotment in Deer Creek, leaving an additional 47,200 acre-feet available for municipal and Industrial use, 7. Recycling of water in the Wasatch Front or the use of 2-stage systems for municipal and industrial uses have not been explored, 24 |
