SOUTH JORDAN — As spring runoff makes its way to the Salt Lake Valley, secondary water is again becoming a primary concern to city leaders.
Under consideration is an idea not to install a proposed $20 million secondary system — which might rattle a few pipes in this city of nearly 30,000.
Some developers have been asked by the city in the past to install pipes for a secondary system they were told might one day exist. A few of them, said Councilman Brad Marlor, may have complaints, but he's hopeful everyone will see a compromise by not building the system.
"We may have to bite the bullet now and realize it will pay off over time," Marlor said.
The goal in South Jordan may actually be to do away with secondary water fees, nix secondary water impact fees imposed upon builders and spare developers from having to install any more pipes for secondary water.
A proposed agreement to sell secondary water to the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District for treatment would earn the city credits and help offset costs for South Jordan users, who may end up spraying culinary water on the green parts of their property. Farmers, however, could continue using secondary water for irrigation.
Within the next 30-60 days a public hearing is planned, and the above ideas may eventually be presented to the council in the form of a resolution. As water worries dog distributors throughout the valley, South Jordan looked at neighboring Riverton to justify opting against a whole new system.
Most of Riverton's 25,000 residents have connected to the city's nearly complete $18 million system and pay about $15 to $25 each month for secondary water. Residents who connect later may pay a $1,300 impact fee and another $1,000 in installation costs. Funding for their project came from the Central Utah Water Conservancy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Utah Department of Water Resources and over $10 million from revenue bonds.
A problem that could arise in Riverton, cautioned South Jordan City Manager Rick Horst, is that users may not practice conservation with a system that is not monitored. If that happens, "they're going to run out of water," he said. "They'll have to meter it." And that would cost more money, on top of a whole host of other residual costs.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com