Price City Council approves advance of $12–$14M spring transmission-line replacement and adopts water-rate ordinance

Price City’s council voted April 9 to advance a spring water transmission-line replacement estimated at $12 million to $14 million and adopted a new water-rate ordinance to help pay for the upgrade.

The council approved a motion to pursue design and construction funding for the project — which would replace roughly seven miles of an 11-mile stretch of aging thin-wall steel pipeline — and then approved Ordinance No. 2025-002 establishing new culinary water rates. City and contractor presentations said the existing pipe is more than 95 years old in many places, difficult to repair and has experienced repeated leaks.

Why it matters: city staff and outside experts said the spring feed is a primary source for Price’s drinking water at certain times of year, and a failure of the transmission line could cause outages and water-quality problems. Engineers recommended HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pipe for the replacement because of its corrosion resistance and flexibility; presenters estimated the transmission-line work would take three to four years and likely be performed during warmer months to avoid taking the system offline in winter.

What officials said: Janelle Brethwaite of the Rural Water Association told the council the city’s rate and funding options were modeled against state grant requirements and the community’s income…