In response to your front page article in Oct. 21 edition “Rising pipeline costs to hit hard,” I offer the following comments.
Because Utah taxpayers would be required to subsidize the Lake Powell pipeline (LPP), we need to know if this project is necessary and feasible. For years, the DWR and Washington County Water Conservancy District have been evasive in providing reliable cost and viability data. Solid information is found in the comprehensive analysis by 21 economists from the University of Utah and BYU, dated Oct. 26, 2015.
With construction costs of $1.4 to $1.8 billion, plus interest on a 50-year bond, water rates would increase initially 576 percent to 678 percent. Because higher rates would reduce demand 62 percent to 64 percent, water rates would need to be increased even more. Impact fees would also increase from the current average of $6,102 to $13,630 to $14,514 per connection. Other expenses, such as infrastructure outside the LPP, would drive costs even higher. In analyzing these factors and various financing options, the economists concluded the LPP is not financially feasible.
As other studies prove, with reasonable conservation and development of untapped sources, we have enough water to meet demand until at least 2060 without the pipeline. As taxpayers, we should not be forced to pay for this futile project that would serve only two of the 29 Utah counties.
Andrew Kramer, Ivins