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Weaver River Partnership to vote on coordinator hire after federal nonpoint-source grant award
Summary
Weaver River Partnership reported it was awarded a Section 319 nonpoint-source grant for Ogden Valley water-quality work and said it will vote at its next meeting to contract a coordinator, who would oversee septic testing, stormwater measures and outreach.
The Weaver River Partnership said it has been awarded a federal Section 319 nonpoint-source grant to fund water-quality improvement work in Ogden Valley and will vote at a follow-up meeting to approve a contract for a coordinator to run the project.
The grant, described in the meeting as roughly $41,000 in federal funds combined with other nonfederal and in-kind contributions to reach about $66,000, will support a coordinator to “oversee and implement the projects designed to improve water quality and protect water quantity in the Ogden Valley,” the partnership said. The partnership named Shanna Francis as the candidate and said it will vote on the contract at its next meeting.
Why it matters: Ogden Valley sits over a local aquifer that participants said is served by thousands of septic systems; partnership members said resident concerns and local monitoring identified sedimentation, failing septic systems and trash near recreational areas as primary water-quality problems.
At the meeting, Weaver River Partnership staff summarized planned coordinator duties: forming an Ogden Valley action group of residents, creating an incentive program to help homeowners test, maintain and repair septic systems, implementing projects targeting trash and nonpoint sources at Pine View Reservoir, and measures to reduce stormwater and erosion from improper construction and development. The coordinator will also manage administrative and monitoring tasks tied to the grant and partner work.
The partnership reported that Ogden Valley contains about 2,600 septic systems located over the Ogden Valley aquifer and estimated a roughly 15% failure rate, which participants said is a significant local concern. The partnership said it will prioritize outreach to landowners and design incentive structures to assist homeowners with septic testing and repairs.
Meeting participants asked whether the federal funds were at risk because of a recent federal pause on some grant disbursements. A Division of Water Resources staff member at the meeting said that an executive-level freeze could affect reimbursements for federally funded projects and that the partnership and state staff were contacting federal and state delegations and lobbyists for clarification. The partnership noted that the specific grant appears to be reimburseable (applicants incur costs and are later reimbursed) but that the group is monitoring the situation.
The partnership said the project will also include measures to reduce stormwater and erosion and that it intends to hire the coordinator promptly if the contract is approved. The vote on the contract was scheduled for the next meeting; no formal action on the contract was taken at this meeting.
For more information, the partnership directed people to contact Christine Osborne, Paul Burnett or Adam (last name not specified) and said it will post contract and project details after the next meeting.
