Cottonwood Heights faces state deadline for water element as residents raise high-bill concerns

Cottonwood Heights staff told council on Dec. 16 that the city must adopt a water-use element this year to satisfy state grant requirements, prompting detailed discussion about the city’s role, data gaps and resident concern over rising utility bills.

Speaker 3 said the draft water chapter — prepared with state grant assistance — will be on the planning commission agenda and must be adopted to meet the state deadline. The staff presentation described the chapter’s focus on conservation education, water-wise landscaping and short-, medium- and long-range actions, noting the city does not itself deliver water service in most of the municipality.

Why it matters: Salt Lake City Public Utilities (and in a small area Jordan Valley Water) provide water to Cottonwood Heights customers; council members said that distinction limits the city’s control over pricing but not its ability to promote conservation or to advocate for residents.

Constituent bills and the need for better data

Speaker 7 described constituents’ shock at recent water bills — citing examples such as “I’m paying $600 a month on water” — and asked staff to pursue meter-level or jurisdiction-specific consumption data from Salt Lake City Public Utilities. Speaker 3 acknowledged the concern and said Salt Lake City’s system-level data must be extrapolated for Cottonwood Heights, noting consultants had to estimate consumption based on population.

Speakers also highlighted that per-capita comparisons can be misleading depending on what is counted (residential vs. commercial, irrigation, acreage-driven metrics) and that irrigation generally accounts for the largest share of residential usage. The committee recommended including specific timelines in the short-, medium-, and long-range action lists to satisfy state reviewers.

Next steps

The water chapter will be presented to the planning commission (on the agenda the day after this work session) and then returned to council for recommendation and adoption; council asked staff to request more granular consumption data from Salt Lake City and to clarify the chapter’s timelines to meet state requirements. No change to service providers or rates was directed at this session.

Closing note: The council emphasized the city’s advocacy role for fair treatment of residents but acknowledged limited direct control over supply and pricing when service is provided by an external utility.