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Residents and council express concern over state weed-control herbicide treatments near private wells in Emigration Canyon
Summary
Councilors and residents said state crews have mapped herbicide treatments in parts of Emigration Canyon including near private wells; residents urged coordination with the city, Salt Lake City Public Utilities and the Emigration Improvement District because of possible water-quality and public-notice impacts.
A presentation and several council comments raised concerns about a state weed-control program that would treat myrtle spurge in parts of Emigration Canyon.
A resident who identified herself as Janet Haskell said state crews had worked in steep, private areas behind her property and that she had negotiated with crews to avoid chemical treatments on her spring by digging out plants instead. "They've been coming up here in a secret canyon behind my house, way up there where my spring is and everything. And we negotiated a deal that they would not use any chemicals, but that meant that they had to dig it out," Haskell said.
Council members and staff said they had not been fully briefed on the program’s scope in the canyon and expressed concern about treatments near private wells. A councilor said a mapping revision removed some proposed spraying along the main canyon road but left a section on Little Mountain; another councilor said Salt Lake City Public Utilities had been on the distribution list and the public-utilities landholdings overlap parts of the canyon.
Speakers at the meeting said the program had used warning signs and a blue dye to mark treated plants and that treatment pamphlets referenced herbicides including telar and milestone; a caller and councilor also referenced glyphosate (Roundup) and noted potential groundwater concerns. City staff and councilors said they would request additional details from the state Division of Wildlife/land-management staff, confirm which herbicides were proposed and coordinate with Salt Lake City Public Utilities and the Emigration Improvement District where jurisdictional concerns exist.
Councilors said outreach and coordination are preferred to unilateral state action in watershed areas and that the city would follow up with the responsible state agencies to confirm timing, mapped areas and any public-safety mitigation (signage, no-access periods) before treatments occur.
No council vote or formal direction to block treatments was recorded; the council asked staff to obtain clearer maps, chemical lists and the state group’s contact information so city staff can coordinate notifications to residents and utility managers.
