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Show M M ira GDavis Watteir By ROSELYN KIRK Board of Directors of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy Conser-vancy District, which supplies both municipal and culinary water from North Ogden to Bountiful, reaffirmed reaf-firmed a decision made in a special board meeting which called for a 40 per cent cut in water delivered in 1977. THE BOARD also agreed that emergency water, available from Willard Bay, will be available to water districts dis-tricts only if they agree to purchase water on a perennial basis. Last month the board had declared a moratorium on new water sales except for water which can be pumped from Willard Bay to farms in the immediate vicinity. In making the decision on the 40 per cent water cut, Wayne Winegar, manager of the water district, said district dis-trict contracts provide that municipal and industrial users will receive first call on available water. Irrigators will share proportionately in the balance. WEBER BASIN attorneys Ed Skeen and Neil Olmstead, said they would do some research on the regulatory powers of the district. The point arose when the board voted to delete a statement from a letter being sent to all Weber Basin water users. The letter, as written, said the district would be obliged to deliver the full 1977 allotment allot-ment if required to do so. Attorneys At-torneys were not sure the district could be held to this agreement under the present circumstances. The board voted to delete the sentence. MR. WINEGAR had said earlier the district could deliver all water contracted for this year, but if required to do so, the reservoirs would be exhausted for the 1978 year. He explained that if the drought continued,, the district dis-trict would have no water to deliver the following year. The letter from the board to water users said that, on an emergency basis, the district would hold water in its reservoirs reser-voirs for 1978 in the name of water users who used only 60 percent of their allotment during 1977. THE LEGAL question was whether Weber Basin could force their users to conserve. Mr. Skeen's opinion was that the district had the authority to "run the system in a reasonable and proper way and could not be forced to strip ourselves of water in one year." Mr. Winegar said the district dis-trict was beginning to get cooperation from the cities. The Davis County Council of Government (COG), made up of all Davis County mayors, had approved the 40 percent cut for this year. MERRILL Tuttle, manager of Bountiful Water Sub-conservancy District called for cooperation from all water districts along the Wasatch Front. He said though culinary systems have priori ties, the board should urge city water systems to be cut back too. Mr. Winegar said he felt the 60 percent water cut as suggested would be complied with by the municipalities. THE BOARD, in listening to petitions from four water districts who were requesting emergency water from Willard Bay, agreed that these districts would have to become customers on an annual an-nual basis if they were allowed to buy emergency water this year. Mr. Winegar pointed out the district does have water to sell from Willard Bay. This water comes from the Ogden and Weber Rivers during non-irrigational seasons. DURING THE irrigation season, the water is pumped backward up the almost level canal for delivery to farmers near the bay. Representatives from Hooper, Warren, Wilson and Plain City water districts petitioned pe-titioned for water from Willard this year. Only Hooper currently purchases the water during an average year. THE BOARD agreed to emergency water sale based j on three criteria: (1) that the J district agree to buy at least j 500 feet of water this year at $8 a foot, (2) buy additional j water at the same price if I needed, and (3) agree to buy j 10 percent of the water used this year on a perennial basis. Wayne Eldredge, board member, said the rest of the system has been paying for Willard Bay, even though most areas are unable to receive water from it. The board determined that, if users were supplied on an emergency basis, they would need to agree to purchase water on a yearly basis to repay the pumping and construction con-struction costs for that water reserve. MR. WINEGAR said whenever possible the district will trade Willard Bay water for upstream water. He said the bay is the most dependable dependa-ble water source, but is available to only an isolated area. |