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Show Utah groat h liEiiif od by rjotor SHpply Utah's immediate water problem is no water itself but the cost of placing high quality water where and when it is needed, according to Utah Foundation, the private non-profit research agency However, in the long run water is the critical factor that can place an ultimate limit on growth in the state. "No water development project is an 'alternative' to another in the sense that a choice is offered amongpro-jects," amongpro-jects," the Foundation notes in a research report re-leased re-leased this week. "Each project supplements the others and in the final analysis the value of eaah can be measured in time-the time-the number of years it can add to the time that healthy growth can continue. The critical nature of the balance between water supply and demand is illustrated illus-trated by the situation now existing in Salt Lake Valley. Supply and demand are currently cur-rently very nearly equallb-rium. equallb-rium. Projections indicate that it will be necessary to develop an additional annual supply of 38,000 acre feet by the year 2,000 to preserve preser-ve the balance between supply sup-ply and demand. . Similar water supply problems are found throughout through-out the state. The largest potential source of water development develop-ment in XTta.Ii is the Central Ulan Project, largest of the participating projects of the four state (Colorado - New Mexico - Utah and Wyoming) Colorado River Storage Project. Pro-ject. About 40 of Utah's entitlement to water from the Colorado River System is still undeveloped, and could be developed through the CUP. Utah's full share of Colorado River water may be as much as 1.4 milliion ' acre feet a year. |