Increased Water Demand In Southern Utah:
During the past three decades, Southern Utah has grown at an astronomical rate, making it one of the nation’s and the state’s fastest growing areas. With growth, comes an increasing need to adequately supply water to meet the area’s demand. Despite stringent water conservation requirements, water shortages in the area may begin as early as 2012 if Southern Utah does not explore new water sources.

About The Lake Powell Pipeline:
In order to meet the water demands of an ever-growing population in Southern Utah, plans and studies for construction of a pipeline from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir have been underway for nearly 10 years. Studies have revealed that the pipeline is feasible.

The Lake Powell Pipeline would consist of roughly 120 miles of 66-inch pipe from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir and 38 miles of 30-inch pipe from Sand Hollow to Cedar City. The Pipeline would bring 70,000 acre feet of water to Washington County, 10,000 acre feet of water to Kane County and 20,000 acre feet of water to Iron County. The Pipeline would probably exceed $494 million in current dollars.

The Lake Powell Pipeline would allow Utah to tap into its unused portion of the Upper Colorado River water, which was defined in the 1922 Colorado River Compact. The Compact divides the river basin into two areas: the Upper Colorado (comprising Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) and the Lower Basin (Nevada, Arizona and California). Currently, Utah is using 74 percent of its annual allocation of 1,369,000 acre feet.

The Pipeline would originate at Lake Powell, near the Glen Canyon Dam, and would deliver water to Sand Hollow Reservoir, located approximately 10 miles east of St. George. As part of the initial feasibility studies, various alternative alignments are being investigated in an effort to identify the least costly alignment that would have minimal impact on the environment.

Officials are also looking at the possibility of harnessing some of the Pipeline’s power generating capabilities at key points to help offset some costs.

Even though the project is in its early stages, the project team is taking all appropriate precautions to ensure that the Pipeline would be built on sound engineering principles and be environmentally and culturally responsible.