While it is generally agreed that something must be done about the water shares shortage in the Ashley Valley, the topic is complex. During the City/County meeting held on Thursday in the Uintah County Commission Conference Room, several sides of the issue were discussed. Vernal City Councilman Corey Foley acknowledged the complexities but urged all the stakeholders present to transition from talking about the issues to stepping up and acting on solutions. Foley said he believes if action isn’t taken immediately to provide water to those ready to develop and grow the community, then the ripple effect of consequences will spread, hurting every business, entity and community member. Central Canal President Wayne Simper shared the perspective from the canal shareholders. He said that canal companies are willing to work on solutions but everyone needs to understand the danger of losing more and more agricultural land. Everytime you turn over agricultural water to culinary, that’s more acreage without water to grow food in the future, he explained. Simper also emphasized that there is 12,000 acre feet of water that can be accessed in the Green River that is set aside for growth in the Ashley Valley. He said the Uintah Water Conservancy District recently voted to move forward with that project and while it will take a long time to develop, it’s important to not lose those water rights to those wanting it downstream. Vernal City Councilman Ted Munford emphasized that getting the water from the Green River is not a simple matter and that the cost of the infrastructure triples the cost of the water. He also said he does not want to see a loss of farmland but in many cases when a farmer passes away the family cannot afford to buy the ground to continue the farming operation and so it is most often sold and subdivided for new development. In those cases he said the water rights should stay with that land. Munford also emphasized that there likely isn’t one solution to these issues but it will take a collaboration of many solutions adding up together. It was generally agreed that steps should be taken to pursue the water in the Green River while also actively pursuing more immediate solutions. Vernal City’s proposal to free up water in the District by offering annexation of adjacent properties was the most immediate short term solution offered to get some development moving again in the Ashley Valley Water and Sewer Improvement District.
