08-09-2003, 02:13 AM
I wish something could be done as well, but one thing you have to realize is that they built the dikes so that they could sell the water rights. The rights are sold so as long as there is water in there, they have until october to pump it out. All the irrigation that comes out of willard and goes down the canals gets used for a wide variety of things. Some people have the water rights for no other purpose than watering thier lawn. Some use it for irrigating crops in thier farm fields.
As far as the ability to stop it goes, break out your check book and buy up all the water rights. There is no other way. People own that water.
We have a huge problem and one solution to fix it was the bear river project. Thank goodness that was defeated. They wanted to dam up the bear river in three spots, and divert the water into willard. BUT, they would then have sold the water rights to salt lake city. That would have meant that not only weber county would be draining willard, but all of south salt lake as well. Plus, we would have completley drained the bear river before it gets into the bird refuges, and endangered the irrigation of all the crops out west of brigham.
The only hope is conservation. And that lies mainly in the residential community. After five years of drought, if you have a green lawn in august, chances are you arent helping. Its a nasty buisness this water issue. But worse than hurting fishing, if there isnt enough water to water crops the local economy suffers.
The construction of more reserviors would definitley help, but to pay for thier consrtuction, you have to sell water rights, and that means you cant totally control the water levels, so it doesnt become a solution.
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As far as the ability to stop it goes, break out your check book and buy up all the water rights. There is no other way. People own that water.
We have a huge problem and one solution to fix it was the bear river project. Thank goodness that was defeated. They wanted to dam up the bear river in three spots, and divert the water into willard. BUT, they would then have sold the water rights to salt lake city. That would have meant that not only weber county would be draining willard, but all of south salt lake as well. Plus, we would have completley drained the bear river before it gets into the bird refuges, and endangered the irrigation of all the crops out west of brigham.
The only hope is conservation. And that lies mainly in the residential community. After five years of drought, if you have a green lawn in august, chances are you arent helping. Its a nasty buisness this water issue. But worse than hurting fishing, if there isnt enough water to water crops the local economy suffers.
The construction of more reserviors would definitley help, but to pay for thier consrtuction, you have to sell water rights, and that means you cant totally control the water levels, so it doesnt become a solution.
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