Utah County delays vote on Hobble Creek water ordinance after hours of public comment; schedules state work session

Utah County commissioners continued debate on a proposed amendment to the county land‑use code that would require applicants for building permits to sign a notice about pending state water litigation and, for properties in Hobble Creek Canyon, obtain a professional certification that their water rights are sufficient. The commission scheduled a work session with state water officials and continued the item to the week of Oct. 27–28 to give staff time to refine the language.

The county attorney, Rob Moore, told the commission the measure is meant primarily to put prospective builders on notice about an ongoing adjudication and a recent state engineer order. "The county is not the one shutting off water; it'll be the state if they do that," Moore said, summarizing the county's intent to notify applicants about litigation and potential impacts rather than to directly revoke water rights.

Why it matters: Hobble Creek Canyon is subject to a long‑running adjudication and a new state order that county staff described as prompting an active distribution system overseen by a river commissioner. Staff and the planning commission recommended the…