Council weighs giving two‑season notice to end effluent lease as city advances plan to treat and reuse wastewater

Cedar City Mayor and councilors discussed a request Feb. 19 to give formal notice under a contract with Clarkland and Livestock that would begin the two‑growing‑season countdown to end the lessee’s exclusive use of wastewater effluent for irrigation.

Mayor Wilson Edwards framed the issue as part of a multi‑year effort to make beneficial municipal use of wastewater. The mayor said the city is building a cloth‑pile filter project at the wastewater treatment plant to produce higher‑quality (Type‑1) reclaimed water for irrigation and that the city is pursuing pipeline options and state and federal funding to bring treated effluent to municipal parks, schools and ball fields. “We have basically $50 million worth of water value that was going through our treatment plant,” the mayor said during the council discussion, describing the potential municipal value of the effluent when treated and distributed to city sites.

Timing and notice: the lessee’s contract, acknowledged by both parties, allows the city to give notice to end the lease with two growing seasons’ lead time. The mayor and several council…