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Show CUP drags, members want out At least three Wasatch Front governing gover-ning entities have recently talked about withdrawing from the Central Utah Project (CUP), but Lawrence Siddoway, manager of the Uintah Water Conservancy District, says there is little chance that will actually actual-ly happen. Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Water Conservancy District, and Utah County have all recently talked about pulling out of the CUP since there has yet to be any water flowing into the Wasatch Front area from the project. Salt Lake City officials say they could save $2 million a year and they could use the money for much needed capital improvements. The Utah County Commission wrote a letter to the Central Utah Water Conservancy District asking what withdrawing from the CUP would entail. Earlier this year the Salt Lake County Water Conservancy District approved a resolution staling they would consider withdrawing from the CUP if water does not reacn the Salt Lake Valley by January 1985. The effects those moves would have on Ihe CUP would be disaslcrous, since those entities are heavy financcrs of Ihe project. However, Siddoway Sid-doway said there is little chance Con gress would ever allow any of the participating par-ticipating entities out of their obligations. obliga-tions. That would cripple the project and be disasterous for all involved. The progress of the CUP has been hampered for years due to continuing problems. Although several projects have been completed in the Uintah Basin, the Upalco and Uintah units must still be constructed. Access to Indian In-dian Reservations continues to be a problem. Much of the project's problem comes from lack of funding. Siddoway said this is the first year since the early ear-ly 19(i(ls that federal funding has been adequate. Inflation has also been disasterous, since the original cost estimate of the project was thrown out the window years ago and now the completed cost will be many times more than the initial figure. Much of the project was and will be built lo serve Utah and Salt Lake counties. coun-ties. Siddoway said, although there is not actually water coming to the Wasatch Front , that area has benefited. This has come in the way of a major aquaduct and water treatment treat-ment plants. According to Siddoway, many of Ihe problems concerning water in Salt Lake County are yet to conic. Right now Salt Lake City has a large block of water from Deer Creek Reservoir which they are not currently using. That water is now being sold to south Salt Lake County. Salt Lake City has put that area on notice that they will sooner or later need the water, which will leave south Salt Lake County short. The CUP project will eventually eventual-ly solve that problem, when the project pro-ject is finished, which may not come for another 10 years. Siddoway said whatever the case, the Uintah Basin should not be affected af-fected significantly in the near future, and he does not believe there is any way the courts or Congress will allow members who have incurred obligations obliga-tions to leave the CUP. |