Quote:
Originally Posted by delts145
Are you advocating draining Lake Powell? That would be a non-starter where I'm 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 misinformation and 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 Many of the claims from the information you presented regarding the island information were patently false or at best outdated.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:
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Long post, but please read. Lots of information.
It’s not misinformation if 800,000+ Acre feet lost to evaporation at Lake Powell, on a river with an average annual contribution to Powell of 2,500,000 AF, = 1/3, then it’s just math. Yes, a massive proportion of the entire annual flow of the Colorado is lost to evaporation/seepage when you total the loss statistics at Powell, Mead, Mojave, and Havasu. While it’s not common knowledge, it’s unfortunately true.
When Glen Canyon and the Hoover Dam were constructed, their lake volumes were calculated off precipitation collections from only the past few decades. With expanded research/understanding measuring precipitation going back tens of thousands of years, we now know that those measurements were taken during an extremely wet period. Thus, based off the TRUE average rainfall patterns of the mountain west, we now know that we will rarely, if ever, have the volume of water to fill both Powel and Mead. Keeping both jeopardizes electricity production at both, dramatically increases water loss, and continues to cause sever environmental degradation. Removing one (in this case Powell) to fill Lake Mead guarantees long term electrical generation, INCREASES total water volume, and resolves the most severe environmental issues of the upper Colorado and Grand Canyon.
Side note, from a purely economic viewpoint, draining lake Powell (and subsequent increase in water supply) DRASTICALLY outweighs the economic impact of a few hundred houseboats. It’s not even comparable. There is little to no local economy that the lake supports, it generates ~2% of the mountain west’s electricity, and it exists purely for water metering, something that a Dam isn’t even necessary for.
While on the surface it seems radical, it has been a legitimate discussion/option for some time now among water/river planning and management circles. There is an extensive amount of ongoing research and recently started long term studies evaluating the impact and benefits of draining Lake Powell. Quite frankly from a pure numbers standpoint, the conclusion is becoming obvious. The cultural perceptions and emotional attachments are the biggest barriers.
The claims on Palm Jumeirah weren’t false… only 1 was ever completed and developed. The rest remain undeveloped, uncompleted, or cancelled. And yes, they are sinking. And no, the Islands of the world are not under development.
https://tomorrow.city/a/dubai-man-made-islands
The Utah Lake Reclamation information presented/linked isn’t patently false, it’s a compilation of hundreds of experts and decades of research, something the Lake proposal is lacking entirely. Again, please review the previously linked information from prior posts.
If considering draining Lake Powell is a non starter, and considering developing Utah Lake or giving it some validity by looking at it as a “both sides” kind of issue, then I think that’s pretty telling of the hopelessness of trying to solve Utah’s water issues if we continue to hold onto these types of outdated perceptions.
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Trib article about it today:
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