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Show AA4 OPINION the Salt Lake Tnbune Sunday, October 12, 2003 Weshouldn't let drying aquifers destroy Utah agriculture By Wes Quinton October ushers in the begin hing of a new water year, and vith it come e xpectations and that the state Can receive the drenching it needs to pull out Hope of the five-y Cai reality has already de livered another water bombshell Utah state engineer, who versees the state Division of Vater Rights, has indicated that tations ie basin the state bear a greater portionof must involve cutting back the ter right the state indicated was available? Groundwater is not like a stream or river, with ex treme ebbs and flows from droughts andfloods. It is viewed the burden for eliminating a wa water pumped from the aquifers, which will have a tremendous negative economic impact on the agricultural industry. State law is clear. Those who had the wa ter first should have the right to drought cycle fet with theSe hopes and expec eVeTal excessive draw on our aquifers However, the solutions clearly aquifers in Utah over-appropriated greatly ceeding their safe yield me ex y 240 percent. Overdrawn aqui fers can deteriorate water qual ity by increasing salt concentra tions, and can also result in sub idence or compaction of the air as a large undergroundreservoir with the years of higher rainfall offsetting the loweryears. Considerthat for several dec ades these farmers have beenin the process of improving the it before those who came later the prior appropriation doc trine. However, many farmers question why agriculture should bear the miulti-million-doilar brunt of this mistake And make no mistake about it, it was a mistake a mistake perpetuated by the state Divi irrigation equipment, building facilities and securing loans based on the value of their land and water. Now, the announce sion of Water Rights in the 1950s and ‘60s as it authorized water ment of an impending cut in wa ter rights has put both farmers use above the amount of water recharged annually into our and aquifers. land, planting crops, purchasing lenders in a_ tenuous position Farmers must guess whether We cannot hold the the water used to occupy 0 even if the aquifer is re charged in the future, it will have present administration account able, but certainly we cannot in they will have water the next turn hold the farmers account purchase lost a good deal of its capacity to able for doing what they were hold water ‘The state engineer has sug ted alternatives to reduce the told, in good faith, they could do They've been doing it for ment, their must loans paces vo« year and whether they should more than 40 years. Shouldn't seed or new equip or even bother repairing old equipment. Lenders reevaluate the present to reflect the additional preserving open space for per sonal enjoyment and for wildlife habitat and feed. Agriculture contributes more than $1 billion worth of product sales annually, stimulates at least another $2 billion in secondary industries andis thelifebloodof many rural communities. Watching our productive lands in Iron, Millard, Beaver and other counties succumb to weeds and dust bowls is not a palatable option. There are new water sources that could and should be developed to avoidthat situation. Utah still has over one third of its share of water from the Colorado River Compact, 500,000 acre-feet, which remains undeveloped. It simply hasn’t been economical for private in- risk. And with the impending loss of water (land is only as valuable as the water makesit), the collateral for new loans is suddenly very suspect. Now that the problem has been publicly aired, it must be quickly resolved to put an endto the uncertainty and put farmers andlendersat ease. But there is a larger, overar- ching question. Shouldthestate of Utah ever movein a direction to reduce the amount of productive farmland, which is what the reduction in groundwater pumping will accomplish? Shouldn't the state consider adopting a policy to maintain or even increase the agricultural production levels we have enjoyed in the past, for our own state’s security? Obviously, there is a tremen dous public interest in maintaining viable lands for food and fiber. In addition, these lands provide an essential function of terests to pursue. But what about public interests? Utah has always been in dangerof losing this unused Colorado River water to California. Efforts to pipe it to the west to aid in future water development, some of which must be allocated to agriculture, should be a con stant, present focus. But this will require an overt action by the Legislature and our state offi cials to recognize the need to re solve our increasing water dilemma. Obviously, the problem of water loss in our aquifers isn’t new, as the over-appropriations occurred decades ago. It is only that the situation has been ele vated because of precipitous drops in pounded by levels, our Wes Quintonis public policy directorfor the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. 90 Days same as cash 2004 NISSAN TITAN CUSTOM FINISHED SOLID WOOD FURNITURE *HomeOffice *Dining Sets *Kids Room *All Types of Wood Entertainment *Bedroom 305 HP 379 FT LBS. TORQUE 9500 LBS TOWING CAPACITY Independent Representative for KraftMaid Kitchens“ig Located in: Sandy Lifetime Warranty Custom Made Kitchens 9224 S. 700 E. 561-1717 F es Flexible Pricing Your way or no way! Sugarhouse 2236 S. 1300 E. #4 Located with Global Classics next to Michael’s in the Sugarhouse Center 746-5077 NOBODY KNOWS YOUR FORDBETTER. 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Taxes e parbcipating Dealership for details “I Don't Expect My Church To Meet All The Social Needs Of Our Community.” GENERAL AMERI*G4S P205/65R15 GENERALTINE & WITH THE | 442 QUALITY CARE CREDIT CARD See partx pating Dealerst p for detads QualityCare Adi-season tire with 70,000-mile manufacturer's limited ee ee ee ee ee Mounting. balanceng and Tau Mustang. and zeneral’s tares Sate warranty details extra vse Clacermeant t re ee participating Auwte for outect S:-8°F The needs of our community are too big for any one group to handle alone. Simmons Media President Dave Simmons understands that. Which is why he 2-3:24°9 not only gives to his church, he and Simmons employees also support the United Way. When your company runs Dealers fup tor througt wwwqualitycaresernicecom a United Way campaign, you give your employees the HEARTOFTHE STORES WEST j BUTTERRIELD FORE i HENRY DAY « !' : KEM peed i / we IRE vat : KEN GARFF FOR Amencan Fork 8% 5 opportunity to learn about our community's most pressing needs and be part of the solution. It's easy, and 100% of their money goes to helping those in need. SPOINT FORD Murray & 62-26 APY 4. MILLER SUPER FORD oan Lame APN WALLER TRUCKLAND ait Lake Cit B01) 488-188 WESTLAND FORD City WALLEY FORD ce Boasttt! UT BOT 92 443: WILLEY FORD OREM goer B ' em x United Way Start a company - giving campaign at your business. B01) You'll find you're in good company. UT 229-2600 4 com drought situation. But in our efforts to correct the situation, Utah should have a keen interest in maintaining agriculture in Utah, not just for heritage’s sake, but for the food, fiber, secondary jobs, green space and securityit provides. INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW ‘e water OF SALT LAKE www.uw.org |
