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Show Volume XXIX Issue X The Ogden Valley News Page 3 September 1, 2022 Editor’s View Utah Water Management: A Political Shell Game or updating dams and state and interstate water projects so they can keep selling more and more water—every last drop. Conservation and slowing down growth are anathema to their overall interests because their very survival depends on continued growth. Growth and development—this is the name of their game, which allows them to keep collecting monies and power. With new pressures to save the Great Salt Lake, what has the state’s— the water buffaloes’ response been? Very little overall; there heart isn’t in it. Well, there’s Flip Your Strip, metering, ads asking people to “slow the flow”—asking everyone to sacrifice while they continue to peddle building and more building and marketing the state to keep the tide of new emigrants coming, which has now outpaced growth through in-state population growth. The water buffaloes’ latest effort is called Prepare60—or Prep 60, which refers to predictions of Utah’s doubling population by 2060 and Utah’s water buffaloes’ efforts to continue to eke out every bit of water they can within Utah and surrounding states to keep development—thus dollars—growing and flowing. The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District (WBWCD) is our—and surrounding counties’—“water buffalo.” When WBWCD recently hired Bowen and Collins to prepare a study to look at options to bring more water to Ogden Valley, it fit perfectly into their purview of what they’re all about. To keep the water running—regardless of the goals of a rural community or the outlandish political shell game and cost they proposed to develop “more water” to sustain their lifesustaining continued growth aims, which they continue to push at any cost. They work the same ploy used by other power brokers, ensuring that study results and findings zone in on their preferred option by ensuring that the only others presented are deemed untenable. For instance, Bowen and Collins didn’t recommend or share an alternative option besides using the funds for an outlandishly expensive and tricky paper-water exchange plan. Why wasn’t a PDR program (purchase of development rights) option presented— an option that communities across the nation are using. This option would compensate property owners for leaving their land undeveloped, which would protect and save our invaluable water quality and water sources; protect our watersheds that sustainable water sources require; conserve open space, ag lands, recreational lands and opportunities, and wildlife habitat; ease congesAbove, owners of Powder Mountain continue to run cattle on top of a critical watershed in order to lower their property taxes on their expensive tion; and help minimize particulate pollucommercial enterprise, and which Weber County taxpayers funded, tion in Ogden Valley. continuing to pay greenbelt tax rates. By Shanna Francis Utah—the fastest growing state in America. It’s also one of the driest. Politically, this translates to power being concentrated into the hands of those who control Utah real estate and water development, and the parasitic and symbiotic relation between the two. Don’t ever make the mistake of believing that today’s political leaders—at least not in Weber County—are making water decisions for the good of the state and the people Utah supports. They are not. These micro-power brokers are beholden to the macro-power brokers—our state “leaders,” or, more correctly, state kingpins. As a December 16, 2021 Propublica article by Mark Olalde, “Why the Second-Driest State Rejects Water Conservation,” points out, “The influential group that controls Utah water policy is largely unknown to the public, but they’re well known to policymakers. At its core are Utah’s four largest water districts [including Weber Basin Water Conservancy District], which work alongside a loose coalition of politicians and interest groups representing cities and rural water users. “The water broker calls the group Utah’s ‘water OPEC.’ A former state senator who clashed with the group over legislation considers them ‘smug kingdom builders.’ But to most people familiar with their power and ploys, they’re the ‘water buffaloes.’” As noted, at the front of the pack of the water buffaloes are Utah’s four largest water districts, which serve about 90% of Utahns and bring in about a half-billion dollars of revenue annually. They secure the state’s water and water transportation sources that carry water across and into the state to cities and towns, collecting millions of dollars in state and federal money that helps keep them afloat. For instance, the state of Utah recently received $100 million in federal COVID-19 relief money that the state then set aside for water issues. They spend relatively small amounts on conservation efforts, reserving funding for large water projects such as piping canals (i.e., the recently proposed OV Canal Water Efficiency Project proposed by Weber Basin to pipe the OV Canal), building September 17th 17 de Septiembre Historic 25th Street Noon - 8PM Celebrate the end of summer with this free event featuring stilt walkers, magicians, live music, axe throwing, beer garden, cash bar, kids crafts and more! No hay Lugar como OGDEN | Festival de la Cosecha 2022 ¡Celebre el final del verano con este evento gratuito que incluye magos, música en vivo, lanzamiento de hachas, cervecería al aire libre, bebidas a la venta, manualidades para niños y más! @OgdenDowntown | #OgdenHarvestMoon PRODUCED BY It would also enhance property values in the community and, most importantly, support and enhance the number-one reason people move here in the first place—for our quickly fading quality of life associated with our rural lifestyle and sense of community and outstanding and readily accessible recreational amenities, which are also rapidly being overrun, overused, and destroyed. Thank you, water buffaloes and political minions who resolutely fall into line to ensure a continued place in Utah’s insidious, deeply entrenched political machine that has worked over the last several decades to ensure Utah laws and regulations protect the survival of the water buffaloes’ hierarchy—all at the expense of the good of the people and water sustainability. Let’s all wake up and look for different answers to address water issues in Utah. We can start here in Ogden Valley. Let’s work to protect open space and slow the flow by slowing the “grow.” Sprinkler head. Water users in the Wolf Creek Water and Sewer District (WCWSD) continue to be asked to conserve water while developers in the Bridges continue to put new lush green lawns in and landscaping as new homes are built. At left, the owner of this lawn in the WCWSD has lost thousands of dollars’ worth of landscaping in an effort to comply with district regulations restricting water use. Weber County Sheriff Deputies Respond to Complaint The Weber County Sheriff’s Office reported on August 13 that on August 12, 2022, a post was made on Facebook stating that the Weber County Sheriff’s Office had dropped the ball in handling a case where windows of a vehicle were shattered. The complainant believed the incident was caused by BB guns. We understand that this type of post may create frustration and anger with our Office. The Weber County Sheriff’s Office is committed to serving and protecting our citizens and we would like to provide a little bit more information on this incident. The Sheriff’s Office did respond to a call for windows broken on a vehicle that was occupied by an adult and a juvenile. The responding deputy was on scene for just short of four hours and a supervisor was on scene for approximate- ly two hours. During the initial investigation, deputies examined the damage to the vehicle, including a search of the vehicle for evidence such as a BB. The search for a pellet or BB was unsuccessful. Deputies also went door to door checking for video camera evidence of the event. Multiple interviews were conducted with the complainant, witnesses, neighbors, and possible suspects. We appreciate the cooperation of those involved and the commitment of our deputies, including our crime scene unit that responded to the scene. The case is being screened with the Weber County Attorney’s Office for criminal charges. We are thankful that no one was injured. We are committed to solving this case. If anyone has information that would be helpful to this case, we ask that you call the Sheriff’s Office at 801778-6600 or Weber Dispatch at 801-395-8221. |