Tooele County reviews state-required water element draft, weighing conservation and agricultural protection

Katie Jacobson, the consultant from Hansen, Allen and Luce, presented Tooele County’s draft water element — a planning document the state recently required through two bills — outlining a county water budget focused on unincorporated areas and public water systems. Jacobson said the draft compares system supply and demand, shows urban water use at roughly one acre-foot per acre and agricultural use at about two to 2.5 acre-feet per acre (estimates based on GIS and published crop requirements), and recommends county-level actions such as updating land-use regulations on county-managed lands, improving irrigation efficiency, and considering water-wise landscaping for new development.

The presentation emphasized that the draft concentrates on public water-system boundaries (Tooele City, Grantsville City and similar systems) and does not include military water use, which Jacobson noted comprises about a third of the county’s area and should be coordinated with military planners as needed. The slide set compared reported system supply against demand over recent years and placed local usage in the context of regional conservation goals (187 gallons per capita per day by 2030; 178 gpcd by 2040). Jacobson told commissioners the agriculture-to-urban conversion scenario can reduce overall demand on a per-acre basis but raises the need for higher-quality indoor water sources for urban uses.

Council members asked whether pending state legislation on tiered water rates (House Bill 155) or other bills could require changes to this element. Jacobson said tiered rates are a recognized tool for conservation and fit within the element as written, and she offered to track how federal or state program renaming and funding shifts might affect grant or implementation opportunities. She also explained that some agriculture values in the draft are modeled estimates drawn from GIS crop layers and field survey data rather than direct metered reporting.

Next steps outlined for the draft include returning the plan to the commission at the next meeting for adoption after planning review and any requested edits. The consultant and staff also encouraged continued coordination with municipal water suppliers, irrigation/canal companies and military planners to fill gaps identified in the county-wide water accounting.