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Royce City Council adopts five-year water conservation plan, adds guidance on rain barrels
Summary
Royce City on Feb. 4 adopted Resolution 25-1 to update its five-year Water Conservation Plan, adding a reference to rainwater catchment guidance and noting longer-term meter and backup-power measures for well reliability.
Royce City Council on Feb. 4 approved Resolution 25-1, adopting the city's required five-year Water Conservation Plan update and directing staff to add guidance on rainwater catchment (commonly called rain barrels) to the document's conservation tips.
The plan update fulfills a state requirement that municipal water conservation plans be refreshed every five years; the council voted unanimously to adopt the draft with the rain-barrel amendment. City staff and a consulting engineer told the council the plan documents existing conservation measures, identifies the city's water supplies and usage trends, and lists additional actions the city could take to meet state conservation goals.
City staff member Brandon introduced the item as the formal five-year update and said the document "is one of the requirements that we're just showing that we're doing our part and we're trying to help with the conservation of water." Consultant John Beargard of Wasatch Civil reviewed the plan's goals and how they map to regional targets.
Public comment focused on operational resilience and residential actions. Kevin Homer, a Roy resident, told the council he had reviewed the draft and urged more backup power for the city's well pumps and explicit encouragement of residential catchment systems. "I would really suggest that we consider more than just 1 redundancy, 1 backup way of powering those pumps," Homer said, adding that mobile or solar-powered options should be considered. He also recommended adding catchment systems to the list of actions residents can take.
Council members and staff discussed technical and financial details raised in the plan. Staff noted Royce City currently uses a mix of deep-well groundwater and purchased treated water from Weber Basin Water Conservancy District; Brandon said the city runs a high percentage of its Weber Basin allotment because that water arrives treated and avoids the higher power and treatment costs of running deep wells. The plan lists the city's water-right holdings and contract purchases; staff cited the city's rights and contract volumes in the packet and explained that, although the city has significant supply on paper, contract structure and distribution points affect operational choices.
The council and consultant also discussed meter and data improvements included in the plan. The city has installed radio-read meters that allowed the utility to move to monthly billing; the plan recommends pursuing an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system that would provide near-real-time usage data for customers and staff. Staff said the AMI rollout is on a multiyear schedule and a target implementation date in the plan is 2028, pending budget allocation.
Council member Diane moved approval of Resolution 25-1 with the additional language on rain-barrel guidance; Council member Anne seconded. A roll-call vote recorded Council member Jackson, Council member Skadden, Council member Saxton, Council member Paul and Council member Wilson voting aye. The motion passed and the plan was adopted.
The council asked staff to verify technical details about rainwater catchment and secondary-water coverage before public distribution. Staff also said they would continue to evaluate funding options and timing for AMI and other capital improvements noted in the plan.
The council's approval means the updated plan will be the city's reference for conservation measures and public outreach until the next required update.
