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<br /> <br />CHAPTER 7 <br /> <br />PRESENT AND FUTURE WATER SUPPLY AND USES <br /> <br />I-" <br />00 <br />..:::.. <br />o <br /> <br />State-wide <br /> <br />Advances in hydraulic design, equipment, and construction methods <br />have removed many of the restrictions formerly associated with movement of <br />large quantities of water. For this reason, the development of an additional <br />source of water in any part of the state (e.g., a desalting plant on the <br />Wasatch Front) will have an impact not only on the region within which it <br />is located, but on the rest of the state as wel1. Thus it is proper (and <br />perhaps mandatory) that the discussion of water resources begin with an <br />overview of the state situation. <br /> <br />Supply <br /> <br />Water budgets for the ten hydrologic areas of the state are in various <br />stages of preparation as part of the development of a State Water Plan. A <br />preliminary summary of the data has been made in Utah. While Utah produces <br />Some 9 million acre-feet of water annually, on the average, it is currently <br />estimated that on the basis of present and potential future interstate agree- <br />ments the state's potential1y usable supply will be restricted to some <br />7,385,000 acre-feet annual1y. This is the estimated total entitlement of the <br />state from all of its water sources ~nd is the amount which could be com- <br />pletely consumed for a11 types of water-using activities. Practica11y, <br />however, complete use of the water resource will not be possible because of <br />the physical inability to control fully the high flows and carry them over <br />to years of short supply, and because some water must pass through and out of <br />the stream system to maintain a salt balance. <br /> <br />The percentage of potential supply that might be physically and <br />financially feasible to develop wil1 vary from basin to basin, depending <br />on availability and nature of storage sites, quality considerations, hydro- <br />logic variability, etc. Initial investigations of these factors indicate <br />that consumption of 85 percent of entitlement is not unrealistic for the state <br />as a whole; application of this percentage would result in an effective <br />total water supply of 6,300,000 acre-feet annually. It is obvious that <br />water reuse and reclamation must play an important part in assuring that this <br />effective supply is made available. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />The projected water requirements for Utah have been under intensive <br />study for the past three years as part of the development of a State W~ter <br />Plan. Preliminary projections were prepared on a basis of meeting a11 <br />anticipated municipal and industrial uses (M&I), providing supplemental <br /> <br />-19- <br /> <br />