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00000174-456e-d547-ad77-67ef314e0000Following Utah's hottest and driest winter on record, KUER News and KUED Channel 7 joined forces in exploring some of the most important questions of our time. Should taxpayer money be spent to develop additional water resources? What are the consequences of extracting too much groundwater? How much is wasted from outdated water pipes? What role will climate change play as our population grows? Utah’s Uncertain Water Future is collaboration between KUER News and KUED Channel 7. In addition to the radio stories below, click here to watch the KUED television documentary.Thanks to our sponsors00000174-456e-d547-ad77-67ef31510000

Water Is Your Business Fact Sheet

The Salt Lake Chamber announced its Water is Your Business program in the summer of 2014. The idea is to educate and motivate Utah's politically powerful business community to recognize how important water is to their bottom line. This fact sheet says more than $30 billion in water projects are needed to meet future demands. That figure includes everything from updated pipes and pumps in local communities to big-ticket endeavors like the Lake Powell Pipeline and the Bear River Project in northern Utah. It's based on demand and supply projections from the Division of Water Resources and Utah’s four largest water districts. Utah lawmakers have already funded some of this work, and they passed legislationearlier this year to pay for more projects. Critics say projections like these are wildly overblown and the projects themselves are empire-building for water districts.

Judy Fahys has reported in Utah for two decades, covering politics, government and business before taking on environmental issues. She loves covering Utah, where petroleum-pipeline spills, the nation’s radioactive legacy and other types of pollution provide endless fodder for stories. Previously, she worked for the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah, and reported on the nation’s capital for States News Service and the Scripps League newspaper chain. She is a longtime member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. She also spent an academic year as a research fellow in the Knight Science Journalism program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her spare time, she enjoys being out in the environment, especially hiking, gardening and watercolor painting.
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