Changes for Big Pipeline Project to Connect Utah to the Colorado River

Brian Maffly reports on changes on a major water infrastructure to deliver water from the Colorado River to a quickly growing part of Utah: "Utah’s proposed Lake Powell pipeline will cost less to build and be easier to permit under a decision announced Wednesday to cut major hydropower components from the controversial project that would move 86,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water to St. George."

"The division’s new plan for the 142-mile pipeline excludes two reservoirs, proposed for the top and bottom of Hurricane Cliffs, that were to help generate hydropower at times of peak demand. The reservoirs’ removal is expected to lower the tab by about $100 million," according to Maffly.

Despite the savings for the upfront cost of the project, the changes have a longer-term consequence of ending a source of revenue from the now cancelled power generation capacity of the project.

Planetizen picked up in-depth coverage of the pipeline and its implications for the fast-growing city of St. George, Utah, in 2018.