The Bureau of Land Management is reviving the permitting effort for the Cedar City Pipeline and West Desert Water Grab. This effort to siphon water away from rural counties in Utah and Nevada will have far-reaching impacts for centuries to come. Without your help and support water ways connected to Great Basin National Park, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, rural communities, and a Paiute Tribal Band will be siphoned away for development in Cedar City — inflicting harm, conflict and uncertainty.
Let’s ask ourselves a few questions:
- Are the groundwater systems like separate, distinct buckets of water? USGS reports and decades of hydrologic analysis show inter-connected flow system throughout the region, meaning that groundwater moves from one basin to another. This project Robs Peter to pay Paul.
- Will this project limit regional conflict, boost water availability and decrease uncertainty about the future? Communities outside of Iron County that will be impacted are already quarreling over limited water availability. This is exacerbating the tensions.
- Will Cedar City’s project benefit other counties and communities? The project proponents’ own data show that the project will take from Snake Valley, Tule Valley, Wah Wah Valley, and the Escalante Desert. Scenarios from the USGS show that it could be even worse. Ultimately, impacts could reach the water table of the Great Salt Lake.
- Can we allow over-appropriation and over-drafting of aquifers? Utah and Nevada water law prohibits these practices.
- After ignoring water users and community members, Is BLM taking the right approach by promising a final decision in the coming months? We believe BLM should mandate restarting the process anew because of the concerns raised by the public in 2022.
- Can ratepayers in Cedar City and Iron County afford the project? The project proponents’ own estimates show that the effort could increase bills by 300-700 percent in some cases.
- Will you support our communities and allies by making a monthly donation to GBWN so we can protect and defend groundwater? YES. Make a one-time or monthly donation today.
