Orem council reviews renewal of Central Utah water agreement as Vineyard shifts suppliers

Orem City officials told the City Council they will sign a renewed water-supply agreement with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and execute an interlocal emergency water agreement with Vineyard City as Vineyard prepares to disconnect from Orem’s distribution system.

City staff said the 2025 agreement formalizes a change decades in the making: Vineyard will receive water through the Central Water Project and Central Utah Water rather than being master‑metered from Orem. Chris (water resources staff) told the council Vineyard’s on‑system master metering will end and, starting July 1 (date stated at the meeting), Vineyard will be supplied through Central Utah Water.

The agreements update a series of arrangements dating to 1989 and 2005 that allowed Vineyard to grow while relying on Orem and Central Utah for water. Chris said Orem has provided Vineyard with water while Vineyard built out its own infrastructure; under the new arrangement the water will be transmitted through the Central Water Project—principally a 36‑inch transmission line tied to the Deer Creek/Provo River infrastructure—and delivered outside Orem’s distribution system. “We are not going to supply water to them subsidized it, and we never have,” Chris said, describing the city’s view that past transactions were financially appropriate for Orem.

A related interlocal agreement preserves a narrowly scoped emergency supply relationship: Orem will make water available to Vineyard on a short‑term, as‑needed basis if Vineyard suffers a catastrophic failure, but the city will charge a pass‑through or market cost and will not subsidize emergency deliveries. Chris described the emergency arrangement as redundancy for public health and safety; the council was told emergency deliveries could be substantially more costly than Vineyard’s prior ordinary rate.

Council members and staff discussed the water sources and rights that underpin the deals. Staff said Orem markets about 3,500 acre‑feet of water under prior arrangements (a quantity the meeting noted is roughly sufficient for about 4,000 single‑family homes). Orem also holds shares in the Provo Bench Canal & Irrigation Company (roughly 15,000 acre‑feet of shares exist in that company) and has a long‑term contract with Central Utah that provides access to the Central Water Project. The council was told Orem holds a contract for 7,520 acre‑feet annually with Central Utah; that contract is a federal contract that expires in 2047 and is subject to renegotiation at that time.

Council members asked whether shifting Vineyard’s delivery to Central Utah would reduce wear on Orem’s system. Chris and other staff said routing Vineyard’s committed water through Central Utah’s independent transmission will avoid pressure and flow impacts on Orem pipes and extend Orem’s system life. Staff emphasized that the water being marketed for Vineyard comes largely from Provo River sources that Orem does not otherwise fully use during irrigation months.

Speakers also flagged broader policy issues. Councilmembers and staff said they were watching state legislative proposals that could impose new statewide fees or taxes on water or change how water development is funded; one council member said prior proposals would centralize fee authority with cities and that the council would track upcoming legislation.

The water supply agreement with Central Utah and the interlocal emergency water agreement with Vineyard were placed on the consent agenda and approved by the council as part of the consent vote.

Ending note: staff said they will continue technical and legal coordination with Central Utah, Vineyard and Canal Company boards as the transfer proceeds; Orem’s long‑term water portfolio holdings, adjudications and contract terms (including the 2047 review date for certain federal contracts) remain central to future planning.