Is it feasible for Washington County to pay back the cost of a $1.43 billion (2015 dollars) Lake Powell pipeline? A legislative audit says “maybe,” if population grows and there are substantial increases in impact fees, water rates and property taxes.
The Utah Rivers Council (URC) calculates that impact fees would have to increase by 108%; the price of water in Washington County would have to increase by at least 357%; and property taxes would have to increase by 50%.
What’s more, the current price of the Lake Powell Pipeline is actually $3.2 billion, 40% higher than the figure used in the auditors’ calculation.
Performance Audit of the Repayment Feasibility of the Lake Powell Pipeline (August 2019)
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This article is a snippet from the larger column: Environews, that appeared in the September 2019 print issue. Read the full article here.