Clearfield Council adopts Water Use and Preservation Plan to meet new state requirement

Clearfield City Council unanimously adopted the city’s new Water Use and Preservation Plan element, a document staff and consultants said meets a recent Utah State Code requirement for municipal water planning.

Susie Petherum of FFK Architects, who led the presentation, said the plan is designed to integrate land‑use and water use planning. “This is a new requirement by Utah State Code,” Petherum told the council, and the element organizes terminology, regional context and policies to reduce water demand for existing and future development.

The plan summarizes Clearfield’s current water profile and future needs. Petherum presented three headline figures: Clearfield’s water rights and contract capacity total about 18,131 acre‑feet per year; the city’s five‑year rolling gallons‑per‑capita‑per‑day average has moved down toward the local goal (the plan references a per‑person target of 121 gallons per day); and population projections anticipate roughly 37,000–38,000 residents by 2030 and about 42,500 by 2040, which the plan converts into equivalent residential connections (about 12,234 by 2040).

The plan lists ongoing conservation measures the city already uses — weather‑track irrigation controls at parks and city facilities, tiered water rates and rebate programs such as park‑strip conversions and indoor fixture replacements — and proposes a policy and implementation framework that sorts actions into ongoing, short‑term (1–5 years) and long‑term (5–10 years) tasks. Petherum noted the plan aims to align local policy with regional goals set for the Weber River watershed and to document metrics the city can use to track progress.

Council members praised staff for incorporating edits requested during the work session; a minor map‑coloring issue was noted and staff said they would correct it. During debate one councilmember asked about adding a discrete policy on water‑system resilience; staff said that a more detailed resilience and mitigation policy could be developed separately and added later if the council chooses.

Mayor Shepherd and other council members welcomed the plan’s practical emphasis. The council voted to adopt Ordinance 2025‑25, incorporating the Water Use and Preservation Plan into the city’s general plan. The ordinance passed unanimously; staff will proceed to implement the plan and track the metrics described in the document.

What happens next: staff will incorporate the changes into the general plan document and continue coordination with public works and the impact fee facilities plan when planning capital upgrades or pursuing grants.