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Show ;ejTa) LLg)ft Htoiisliw jrlyROSELYNKIRK h is suffering from the year of record for the il02 years. A a result iliiie Winegar, manager of p. ,eber Basin Water Con-Douincy Con-Douincy District says his fjfj;age is conversation. . WINEGAR says the district, through their Emulated water reserves make their current "litment to users in 1977, lTlhey did, reservoirs d be drained and not drinking water would be ""able in 1978. t is hopeful that users will back in their demands jjvater this summer to ""e against next year. He , if water sources are 4 ted this year, the water reserves could not be replenished next year even with a severe winter. It might take 10 years to replace current water reserves. If 1978 were a dry year also, there would be no water. Mr. Winegar says the water district dis-trict has no political power and will have to supply water to contractors jf, requested. The use of water can be controlled con-trolled only through municipal and county governments who will need to enact ordinances regulating water. Mr. Winegar said the water situation probably will not improve even if big snows occur between now and spring. The group is so dry it will suck up most of the water. He does not anticipate much runoff in the spring. He pointed out the irony that in the past 10 years the central Davis County water problem has been how to get rid of flood water. MUNICIPAL water users must, by contract, be supplied first, with farmers taking their proportional share of the water that is left. Although Weber Basin is not authorized to decide which water use is most important, minimal home use will come first. Mr. Winegar feels the second priority should be agricultural use to raise crops, with lawns taking a poor third. "Lawns and shrubs may not be as green as we like them, but they can be kept alive if they are watered weekly," Mr. Winegar said. Municipal ordinances could regulate this use, he said with specific areas watering at specific times. THIS YEAR, the recommendation recom-mendation is to "conserve every drop of water we can and hold as much water as possible in the mountain reservoirs above." The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District serves Davis, Morgan, Weber, Summit Sum-mit and part of Box Elder County. The district maintains main-tains all water reclaimed as a result of the Weber Basin project, which was constructed construct-ed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation at a cost of 105 million dollars. THE DISTRICT provides 60 per cent of the culinary water and most of the irrigation water to 26 separate municipal enties between Bountiful and North Ogden. Mr. Winegar said that in the last 25 years, except for 1961, the district has delivered all the water needed to the five county area. Six reservoirs and five canals provide water to over 12,740 acres of land in the five county area. In addition, eight deep wells support the system. sys-tem. WATER PUMPED from the wells will be 20 per cent more costly, he said. Underground Un-derground water is conserved for use in drought times, but warned that even the deepest underground wells will go dry if everyone starts to draw on the wells. Ushers will have to pay for water even if there is none available the second year. Weber Water is on a 60 year contract with the federal government and is obligated to pay 1 million dollars a year on the debt. Once a city contracts con-tracts with the district, they must pay for the water whether they get it or not. "We have no other alternative but to demand the money," Mr. Winegar said. THREE FEET of water per acre are needed to raise a crop and farmers in Davis County are concerned now about what to plant. Although sugar beets have a higher yield per acre, they take longer to mature and so need more water, Mr. Winegar said. Barley doesn't need as much water, but does not yield as big a profit. Mr. Winegar said farmers located at Willard Bay are in better shape than most because water stored there can be pumped back for farm use. Watkins Dam has converted con-verted a shallow bay of the lake into a fresh water lake. Run-off water is diverted into the bay to be pumped back to water crops in the lower part of the valley. "THIS WATER would be a real asset to a limited area," Mr. Winegar said. But the real conservation can be practiced by municipal water users. "We're better off to suffer with our lawns this year than with drinking water next year." The district recommends some simple conservation methods such as checking for leaking faucets, not showering shower-ing too long or not leaving the water running to wash hands or brush teeth. They suggest that dishwashing and clothes washing machines should be completely filled before running. run-ning. Toilets should not be used as a trash can to flush away tissues and other scraps. Every flush takes five to seven gallons of water, rk |