Planning commission backs water master plan, proposes impact-fee updates and long-term pipe-replacement plan

The Springville Planning Commission on Dec. 9 recommended that City Council adopt the city's updated drinking water master plan, the pressurized irrigation (PI) master plan and associated impact-fee analyses. Staff presented system inventories, growth projections, impact-fee methodology changes and a long-range infrastructure replacement estimate, and answered commissioners' questions before a short public comment period.

During a roughly hour-long presentation, the water-system presenter described Springville's inventory of roughly 220 miles of water mains (4 to 30 inches), seven wells, five springs, nine tanks and 11 pressure zones. Staff said the city currently models for contingency (removing the largest well from service), prioritizes fire-flow requirements, and maintains about 2 million gallons of distributed emergency storage. The presenter said current source capacity is roughly 15,000 acre-feet and identified about 4,400 acre-feet of additional potential sources; an existing 5,000 acre-foot strawberry allocation carries an anticipated roughly $1,000,000-per-year assessment starting in about nine years.

On impact fees, staff recommended moving from a single irrigatable-acre assumption to bins by lot size so fees better reflect actual irrigatable area. Staff recommended an indoor impact fee of about $1,266 (roughly a 0.8% increase from the prior indoor fee) and new outdoor/PI charges calculated per irrigated acre (presented as about $20,953 per irrigated acre or ~48¢ per square foot for PI; East/West differences were discussed). Staff said the change will raise some outdoor fees but keeps the combined impact-fee burden for a 10,000-square-foot lot below the county average, noting the city's cumulative impact-fee level remains mid-range among county cities.

Commissioners pressed for clarity on financing and timing for the system replacement program after staff presented an estimated system replacement/asset value of about $440,000,000. Staff said the figure represents the city's entire culinary-water system asset value and long-term replacement cost; replacements will be phased by pipe vintage and by decade, and the city is evaluating pay-as-you-go budgeting, targeted annual reserves and bonds to smooth rate impacts. Staff noted some immediate replacement projects (Main Street pipeline work) are already budgeted and under construction.

During the public-hearing period, Charles McElwee (stated he lives in Platte) asked whether replacing Plat A pipes could be coordinated to add pressurized irrigation while roads are reconstructed; staff replied PI is being considered as part of coordinated replacements and roadway reconstructions but PI for Plat A is not in the current plan and the $440 million estimate covers the culinary system only.

A commissioner moved to recommend approval of the drinking water master plan and associated analyses; the motion passed by voice vote with no opposition. The commission likewise voted to recommend adoption of the pressurized irrigation master plan and related fees. Both recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council for final adoption and any implementing ordinance or fee schedule changes.