When Brigham Young led the pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley, an early priority was to protect the purity of the water that flowed out of the surrounding canyons and that water feels like it’s been the source of political wars ever since.
The latest battle will play out in the Utah Legislature over the next nine days, as Salt Lake City tries to fend off Rep. Mike Noel and a handful of legislators and landowners intent on stripping the city of its ability to protect the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of Utahns.
Noel, R-Kanab, is doing the bidding of a group of frustrated land speculators who own dry land in the Cottonwoods and could make a fortune if only they could get the water to develop the property.