Orderville adopts culinary water master plan and water conservation plan

Orderville council approved a culinary water master plan and a separate water management conservation plan on motions made and seconded during the meeting.

The plans, presented by an engineer from Sunrise Engineering, lay out a sequence of water-system projects intended to serve new development and financing options tied to impact fees. The presentation noted that the state’s impact-fee framework requires a 90-day delay after enacting higher fees before the town can charge the increased rate. The engineer said the town’s current recommended impact fee for a 5/4-inch meter would range from about $4,000 to $7,600 depending on meter size and the project list.

The conservation plan recommended targeted outreach to the town’s highest water users. “The state of Utah has some goals for this region where the town is situated to have average usage be about 262 gallons per day. So you guys are right at the target,” the Sunrise Engineering presenter said, and added the plan proposes identifying and working with the town’s top 1% of users to reduce excessive culinary-water consumption.

Council discussion emphasized that impact fees are intended to pay for the additional capacity required by growth and that the town would not need the cash until projects reach the construction stage, but legal timing around fee increases matters. The engineer repeated that once the town enacts an increased impact fee the municipality must wait 90 days before charging the higher fee.

The council voted to adopt both plans without a public hearing; the meeting record shows the motions were seconded and each motion was stated to carry.

The plans will be the basis for future decisions on project timing, budgeting and whether to phase in recommended conservation outreach. The council did not set an exact date for implementing any higher impact fees at the meeting.