These are classic discussions published back in March 2007

State Water Engineer Jerry Olds (masterfully) faced a tough crowd last week in the Enterprise High School auditorium, to present the message to the capacity crowd that their way of life might change. The aquifer that supplies most of the water to the Escalante Valley is being drawn down faster than it is being replenished, and Mr. Olds figures he better remedy that situation. Mr. Olds figures the appropriate yield for the aquifer is around 60,000 acre feet per year. However, 100,000 acre feet have been appropriated. In other words, the State (mostly in the late-1940s) told people that they had the right to use a certain amount of water. Those people based their businesses, mortgages, and communities on the State’s representation. Now, however, the State has determined that it messed up; it didn’t have that much water to grant. The State needs to curtail use. How should the State go about that... (read more)