Resident’s request to restore overflow water access from tank tabled for legal review

Darren Jensen, a Scofield resident, asked the council on Sept. 8 to restore access to overflow water from an upper town water tank that historically fed a drainage ditch and irrigated his property.

Jensen told the council someone had poured Quikrete and blocked the ditch and that when the tank runs, overflow water once supplied a green area near the mountain that he would like to use for fire mitigation and wildlife habitat. He said his family had a prior informal agreement tied to the property sale that the overflow would be available for use.

Councilmembers and staff reviewed town minutes dating to 1987 that documented earlier concerns about tank overflow and a past town preference to pipe wastewater and overflow to Winter Quarters Creek, noting estimated piping costs discussed at that time. Town staff and the council said the legal and technical situation is not straightforward: county and town minutes indicate the town historically tried to avoid allowing water to drain into private courses because of easement and erosion concerns; county or state water‑rights law may apply; and returning overflow to private use could raise drinking‑water cross‑connection and air‑gap requirements.

Debbie Redford, town clerk and council president, and other councilmembers said the issue required review by drinking‑water authorities and water‑rights counsel and tabled the matter for further investigation. Redford said the town lacked documentation that the town had promised the overflow to Jensen’s family and that staff would check legal title, historic minutes and regulator rules before any action.

Jensen said he is willing to dig out the quickcrete himself if proof of responsibility cannot be found, and he asked council to consider whether the town could legally divert the overflow in dry years for habitat and fire‑mitigation uses. Council members encouraged a meeting with water‑rights and drinking‑water officials and agreed to revisit the issue once legal and technical constraints are clarified.