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Show s Mill Creek Water Prelect vote Tyesday i. j ' ! - i i-eae Leavitt (center) beams after being named Moab's Miss Diamond k "-lee in the Canyonlands Pageant held last Saturday at Star Hall. She ,'j her court will reign over this week's festivities. Diane Atwood, (left) ' J pi Teri Dunnell (right) were first and second runners up, respectively. ' fvriOO people turned out to watch as the girls competed. Anette gave a ' i filing jitterbug routine that brought hearty applause from the crowd in I latent competition. She received a bouquet from Rim Rock Flowers, a I I'M scholarship award, gift certificate from Jan's, bowling at Moab j Ves, and a chance to represent Canyonlands in the Miss Utah Pageant. Photo by Beth Heggeness Voters of Grand County will go to the polls next Tuesday, Oct. 11, to dotermino tho fate of tho long hoped-for Mill Crook Wuter Project. Pro-ject. To bo decided Tuesday will bo two ballot issues: Tho first will bo to approve tho issuance of General Obligation Bonds in the maximum amount of $2.5 million, to pay for a portion of tho project; tho second issue will authorize tho borrowing and repayment of $1.5 million in interest-free loan money from tho Utah Division of Water Resources and from the Stato's revolving water loan fund. Approval of both issues is necessary to raise sufficient revenues to construct tho major water improvement project which is now estimated to cost some $3.6 million. Utilize All Water The purpose of the Mill Creek Project is basically to utilize to the maximum, all water developed or passing through Moab and Spanish Valleys, in particular the water from Mill Creek, much of which is lost into tho Colorado River in normal years. The project also aims to protect all existing water rights held in the valley, and plans to miilio water available to lands in the valley suitable for irrigation. But more important, the Project provider a culinary water reserve for Moab City, and for the Spanish Valley Water and Sewer District, sufficient to allow for normal futuro growth ""'I development. develop-ment. 100-Acr Physically eek Project calls for1 ,tcrs of Mill Creek . inish Valley through th- Sheley Tunnel, where it would be stored in a 100-acre storage reservoir approximately ap-proximately l'a miles east of the old Grand County Airport in upper Spanish Valley. The reservoir, which would be available for recreational purposes, would store approximately 2800 to 3000 acre feet of winter and high water, which with other diversions could provide some 6,000 acre feet of water to the system developed by tho Project. Mill Creek Canyon itself, at one time considered for a high dam and large reservoir, will not be impacted to any major degree by tho project. A small (10-12 ft.) diversion dam in tho vicinity of Sheley Tunnel will be constructed, and no further impact is contemplated. contem-plated. Culinary Water Insurance 1000 acre feet of water developed in the project will be dedicated for use in the Moab City culinary water system; 400 acre feet for use in the Spanish Valley water system when it is built, and the remaining 4600 acre feet will be available for irrigation of existing farm lands in the Valley or for new lands that might be brought under cultivation. Water rights of Moab Irrigation Irriga-tion Company will be protected, under terms of an agreement, and will be in addition to the above-stated amounts. The project has been planned, in one form or another, for nearly half a century. In its current form, however, design work has been underway for about four years, and that effort has been aided tremendously tremen-dously by the Utah Division of Water Resources engineering staff. The State Water Resources Board, in an action last spring, pledged one of the largest loans ever issued by that agency toward the project's construction. The $1.5 million loan is interest free, and runs for 35 years. Some Taxes Needed 1 It is anticipated that revenue from the sale of culinary and irrigation water will ultimately pay off the loan and provide revenues to retire general obligation bonds. During the first few years of the Project's life, however, some revenue from taxes will be needed to make payments on the two obligations. It is expected that from Vi to 2 mills per year will be. necessary to satisfy the obligation during the first 9 or 10 years of the Project's life. If bonds are approved by the voters next Tuesday, the project will move into its final design and construction phase. Officials of the Grand County Water Conservancy District have stated that construction construc-tion could move ahead rapidly, with the first water being made available to users at the beginning of the irrigation season in 1980. Polls will open at 7 a.m. next Tuesday, and will remain open until 8 p.m. I, ,i. in .-i .. . i ! m |