The Republican candidates for Uintah County Commission answered questions during last week’s Republican Convention. The following was one of the questions asked: “Due to limited water resources there are currently no new commercial or residential water hookups issued by Ashley Valley Water and Sewer unless a person or entity can trade water shares with voting rights for culinary use. This problem can and is impeding economic development in Uintah County. As Commissioner, what would you do to address this problem?” Danny B. Mortensen, who will be on the Primary ballot, recommended holding a meeting between Uintah Water Conservancy District and the Ashley Valley Water and Sewer Improvement District in hopes that they can come to an agreement on buying and leasing water though he called this a short term fix. Ultimately, he said all will need to consider going dry landscaping and conserving water and tapping into the Green River before someone downstream does. Guy Gustaveson, who will not be on the Primary ballot, emphasized that Uintah County has plenty of water but the problem is people are unwilling to give up water shares. He recommended forming a council to determine what water can be used more efficiently for residential or municipal use versus farming. He suggested giving a block of donated water to Ashley Valley Water and Sewer and involving the state engineer to more quickly make water available for community development. Willis LeFevre, who will be on the Primary ballot as the Uintah County Republican Party Nominee, agreed that there is plenty of water and used himself as an example of one who has bought extra water shares in the past but in recent years was bothered by the issues and has been willing to sell shares. He said something needs to be done or the water is going to go downstream. He said to think of the water as being in different buckets. Some “will pour it from one bucket to another to help out,” said LeFevre, “but there’s other entities that won’t take the lid off the bucket so you can pour it even though you’re willing to.” He warned that water rights are in jeopardy if we don’t use them but everyone needs to come together to create solutions.
