Utah, LV in dustup over water
SALT LAKE CITY -- Opponents of a plan to take water from the Snake Valley and send it to Las Vegas are asking the Utah Air Quality Board to look at concerns the project could create unhealthful dust storms in Salt Lake and Utah counties.
They said the plan could deplete the water table in Utah's western desert, jeopardizing native plant life and creating dust storms that blow along northern Utah's Wasatch Front.
Terry Marasco, of the Snake Valley Citizens Alliance, told the air quality board last week that the project will stop the flow of water into Utah and hurt plants that can't stretch their root systems to a sinking water table.
The deal would allow a pipeline to tap into the valley's aquifer, which stretches across both states, so the Southern Nevada Water Authority could draw 16 billion gallons of water a year to deliver to Las Vegas.
