The Upper Price River Watershed Environmental Study team has developed six potential concepts that will address the identified purpose and need of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
It was stated that a concept is a high-level idea that represents a potential solution without specific locations attached. The six concepts will set the framework that will create the next steps of the process as they are evaluated to determine if they address the purpose and need.
It will also be decided if the concepts have inherent flaws that make them unreasonable to construct. Once they are evaluated, the team will then look into developing a list of alternatives and possible locations within the study area where the solutions may be implemented for further evaluation.
The first of the six concepts is the New Storage Reservoir, which would allow additional water to be captured during the winter and periods of high runoff in the spring. The water that is captured could then be utilized for municipal, agricultural or industrial needs through late summer when other water sources are limited.
The New Regulating Reservoir, the second concept, would construct a new regulating reservoir that would have the capacity to hold several days’ worth of irrigation water for agricultural use. Under the concept, water may be stored in the upper Scofield Reservoir and released to the lower, new regulating reservoir.
The third concept is the Coal Mine Storage, which would store water in an existing coal mine that is no longer in service in the near vicinity. This water would be captured in winter and high runoffs in spring, then channeled into a mine shaft to fill some of the previously mined areas below.
For the fourth concept, the Scofield Reservoir Management Changes, Scofield Reservoir would see changes that would potentially allow for additional water to be stored there, especially in dry years when the reservoir in only partially filled. The water could then be released as needed in the later summer.
The fifth concept is Additional Water Resources. This concept would develop additional ground or surface water resources currently available in the watershed that would provide for late-summer needs.
Finally, the sixth concept is Water Conservation and would encourage or require conservation of currently available water in industrial, municipal and agricultural uses. With the water conservation, the conserved water would be stored in Scofield Reservoir in the dry years and provided to users during late summer. Following goals that were set by the state of Utah, this concept anticipates a 20 percent reduction in per capita water use.
Questions and comments on the Upper Price River Watershed Environmental Study may be directed to a study representative at (435) 922-3882 or info@upperpriceriverEIS.com.