Part 3:

This is part 3, the last of a series of articles about the Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) and the studies it has made of area water resources. Part 1 appeared in the January 19 and Part 2 in the February 2 editions of The Record.

What happens now that the GWMA has created its hydrologic model and mapped many of the groundwater sources? Does the project stop here?

GWMA project managers hope not, because there are still a lot of questions to be answered. The hydrologic model is computer-based and must be maintained and new data must be added as it becomes available.

In these difficult economic times, asking governments or the public to continue funding the GWMA’s efforts might be a hard sell. On the other hand, choosing not to continue funding an organization that has already laid such fundamental groundwork for analyzing water supplies throughout the area could be viewed as a waste of the time and money already invested.

According to the GWMA’s figures, it requires approximately $500,000 annually to provide just the minimum services to the area that it has contributed up to now. Using the tools and information that it currently has at its disposal, GWMA can do the following:

• Evaluate the decisions of water conservancy boards for impact on other nearby water sources and provide unbiased assessments of reports supplied by hired independent consultants.

• Advise county governments on the availability of water for private domestic wells as part of the processes of issuing building permits and approving small parcel land divisions.

• Continue mapping of available and future water supplies in order to evaluate proposed city/county planning decisions.

• Review and provide suggestions on the 20-year municipal water supply plans that are being required by the Department of Energy (DOE).

• Continue to provide website maps and forums for educating the public on water issues.

• Act as a resource for any projects that might affect groundwater, including water rights decisions by the DOE, state or federal water infrastructure projects or rehydration projects.

• Maintain the database of its collected information to provide accurate and up-to-date data to consultants, agencies and academic institutions.

• Continue to collect and maintain data on static water levels, volume, quality, well construction, etc. for future groundwater decision-making.

Currently, the GWMA has the data, personnel, infrastructure and equipment needed to provide these functions. But additional funding will be needed. Current work on two assessments for the DOE, funded by the legislature, are expected to be completed by this coming July. The group will also be asking the state legislature for capital funding of $1,600,000 for two additional projects to be completed by July of 2013.

Local funding needed

But those specific projects do not provide the services cited above. The GWMA is asking for local funding to cover the cost of providing those services.

Funding could come from five potential sources:

1. Well-head assessment: This assessment would be made by the county assessor on existing wells.

2. Parcel assessment: This would be a per-parcel tax.

3. General fund equity contribution: This is a process whereby major water users (counties, cities, irrigation districts) join together to fund a groundwater entity.

4. Property tax: This would create a fund from current property tax sources.

5. Fees: Similar to building permit fees, such assessments could be required for requests made to water conservancy boards, for example.

So the future of GWMA and its ability to provide the most scientifically accurate information on hydrologic resources, water quality and aquifer replenishment is a decision that rests not just with bureaucrats and our elected officials, but with us as water users and taxpayers.

This area’s nine inches of annual average rainfall does not provide all too many options for finding additional water sources. More intense water conservation is destined to become a critical necessity as more and more people in the world continue to tap finite sources of usable water.