Provo MSA Development Thread

[delts145]

Originally Posted by Wasatch Wasteland

One major solution in the short term would actually be de-investing in massive water infrastructure projects.

Lake Powell, and all the major reservoirs along the Colorado River, are located in some of the hottest and most arid climates on the planet. Because of this, roughly 1/3rd of the entire volume of runoff (not total lake volume, annual runoff volume) for each year is lost to evaporation, from the sheer size of the surface area of water located in the hot desert.

This pattern/proportion of water loss is repeated downstream at Lake mead, Lake Mojave, and Lake Havasu, meaning the the total initial water volume at the confluence with the Green River is roughly 66% post Powell, 43% post Mead, 28% Post Mojave, and 19% post Havasu.

That's astonishingly over 3/4ths the annual volume of Colorado river water lost to evaporation each year, just by storing the water. Removing lake Powell alone to fill lake mead downstream would result in an instant 1/3 increase in annual Colorado river flow. As Lake Powell is currently the only reservoir that provides no pipeline or drinking/irrigation water, is by far the most environmentally damaging, and the most at risk of water dropping below the level for power generation, it makes sense as the first. It's a massive water waster isolated in the middle of the desert, hundreds of miles from the nearest sizeable city.

Removing massive infrastructure in the desert, not building more, is a way to dramatically increase water supplies while restoring Colorado river ecosystems.

Are you advocating draining Lake Powell? That is a definite non-starter where I am concerned.

I would seriously have to doubt your evaporation statistics given what was presented as fact regarding Utah Lake reclamation. Note, I'm not devaluing your personal opinion on the matter but I am questioning the information you were given. I would want a lot more info. before any redevelopment of the Lake took place, whatever the mode of redevelopment taken. It would seem like there is a lot of hyperbole going on from both sides of the issue, both from island proponents and particularly on some of the information you gleaned from the opponents of the redevelopment of Utah Lake. Many of the claims from the information you presented regarding the island information were patently false or at best outdated. Please refer to this post:

Originally Posted by Deek1978

A quick Google search and browse of Google Earth shows that there were only 3 palms to be built, two of them were. The 3rd was started but abandoned because of slow development on the second palm. The slowing came because of a worldwide recession. The Earth Islands were also finished, and they are currently under development. This has not gone as fast as Dubai had hoped, but they are not abandoned.

I couldn't find any information about the islands sinking. I did find that they are studying the ecological impact but claims that it has destroyed the
eco system are claims only at this point.

I'm not arguing in favor or against creating the islands. Much more information is needed. It just seems like people are letting their preconceived bias make their minds up before studying the issue. Let's use this proposal as a starting point to have a much deeper conversation.