Snake Valley aquifer battle is worth fighting

The Snake Valley aquifer feels far away from the Tooele Valley. After all, we’re talking about an unseen body of water deep below the earth’s surface in an area along the Utah-Nevada border where few people live anyway. Ranchers and farmers are the most frequently cited victims of a plan to start pumping water out of the aquifer to Las Vegas. You might wonder, why should we care about their aquifer? If Utah gets half the water and those few hardy farmers can be compensated for any damage done to their livelihoods — a plan that is being considered by Gov. Gary Herbert right now — wouldn’t that be a win-win situation all around? In this case, however, the Snake Valley’s farmers are like frogs in the wetlands — a sentinel species that makes a statement bigger than itself. Once these tough-as-nails farmers can’t eke out a living on the land, you’ve almost conceded the defeat of an entire ecosystem. And that’s not simply a metaphorical defeat. Draining the aquifer has been predicted to have a drastic impact on surface water as well. One scenario is that natural springs such as Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge will dry up as a result, forever destroying one of the most important shorebird nesting sites in our part of the world. Another scenario is that desertification will take place, creating a dust bowl effect. Dried-up topsoil would be carried by the prevailing winds all the way to the Wasatch Front, further deteriorating air quality there...read more