“Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Lake Powell’s water level isn’t the only …
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“Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Lake Powell’s water level isn’t the only potential water problem for Page.
Twenty years ago, the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI)/Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) recognized Page has a water problem, a potential catastrophe. USBR invested a significant amount of time and money finding a solution and gave Page a technical roadmap to solve it. But the technical solution presented another problem: How is a town of 7,300 going pay for it?
Documents of the city’s efforts to construct a second pipeline go back to at least 2004 when a study was completed by the DOI/USBR. The 339-page document obtained by the Chronicle includes construction history, equipment details, population projections, cost estimates, engineering specifications and geological conditions. Machinery breakdowns began before the study began. When pumps became obsolete and replacement parts unavailable, new pumps were fitted to replace old pumps more than once.
The city has virtually nothing to show for all its attempts to secure funding for the multimillion-dollar project, and the price tag increases every year. In March 2023 the project cost was estimated at $42 million, more than double the original 2004 estimates.
According to Mayor Bill Diak, Page, because of its tourism, contributes around $25 million to the state coffers every year. Diak hoped that would give the city some influence when asking for critical funds. It hasn’t so far.
The closest Page came to starting the project was when Arizona SB1169 had strong bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. The $23 million Page water infrastructure bill was appropriated for the 2024 budget, but didn’t make it to Governor Katie Hobbs’ final budget. A reliable source told the Chronicle the paperwork wasn’t submitted for the budget after it passed the appropriation committee. So, the question is, “Who blinked?”
Twenty years of failed attempts, dropped balls, and inconsistent motivation across multiple administrations suggests something else needs to happen. The current Page City Council appears highly motivated to get the job done, but what about the next administration or the one after that? According to all accounts at the City Council-Page Utility Enterprises (PUE) Board last week, a failure in Page’s single water line from the dam could be catastrophic. The DOI knew this in 2004 and told the City of Page a redundant water line and pumping system is needed. They produced a roadmap and handed it to the city, no charge, to get the ball rolling.
So what’s the answer? It’s an overwhelming task for PUE’s manager, who is already overseeing Page’s gas, water and electricity services. The volunteer PUE Board has its limitations and relies on the expertise of consultants to make decisions.
“Bryan's (PUE Manager Bryan Hill) juggling other utilities besides just this one,” said Diak. “So maybe somebody can help Bryan with this priority project to keep the ball running.”
Councilor Mike Farrow told the Chronicle the city needs someone working full-time on getting redundant water infrastructure. “I think it's so demanding, so important that somebody should be tapped to run with this,” said Farrow. “It should be a full-time job -- just to assemble the team to support it, just to arrange the meetings, just to bring people together, just to arrange the agenda.”
Hill thinks Page needs someone to dedicated to getting the job done. “I threw that out there,” said Hill. “I'm like, ‘You know, we’ve got a utility to run.’ We're out there trying to do our best. Then you have people in the background throwing a box in front of us at night. This is kind of a polished deal where you're playing monkey with a tin cup.
“We're good at running utilities and finance and staff and repairs and regulatory reporting. That's what we do. This is a different animal. This is completely a different move. So I guess I threw that out there because it takes a lot of time. It's been a lot of effort and very little progress. And then you’ve got people kind of working against us in the background. So I'm like, ‘Hey, get somebody else to do this.’ It's almost like paying a real professional lobbying group to say, ‘please go get us this money.’”
There are two central problems to solve for a reliable water infrastructure in Page: redundancy and capacity. A second straw would take care of redundancy so there would always be a backup water supply in place, giving the City or USBR time to make repairs.
Page currently uses less water than allocated, but the city is growing. New home construction is accelerating. Over 100 homes were recently added and 300 more are expected by 2026. For growth, and to access more of the city’s federally allocated water, 18”water lines should replace the 12” water lines coming from the dam. An 18” pipe can deliver twice as much water as a 12” pipe.
The 2004 DOI/ USBR study addresses both the redundancy and capacity issues, but it’s not the only path. There are alternatives, some more or less costly than the 2004 plan. Some are riskier than others, and some are contingent on factors the City of Page can’t control.
Over the next few weeks, the Chronicle will look at emergency plans, and the pros and cons of all alternatives on the table, including a potential partnership with the Navajo Nation.