Orem updates general plan to add water and preservation element; council asks for aquifer/herbicide study

City planning staff presented a draft update to the general plan adding a Water and Preservation element required by state code. The draft borrows language and policy goals from Orem's previously adopted water conservation plan (presented and adopted in October 2022) and is intended to align land-use policy with water-demand considerations required by the legislature.

Planning lead Reid Price explained the element's role: "The general plan ... is just taking a broad overview of what has already been adopted in the water conservation plan," and that the state wants assurance that communities are planning for reduced per-capita demand and integration of water supply considerations into land-use decisions.

Councilmembers raised a separate concern about unintended consequences of turf reduction and landscaping changes, specifically whether increased use of herbicides where turf is replaced could affect aquifer health. Staff said wellhead protection policies exist for identified areas but acknowledged that specific studies on herbicide impacts were not known to staff. The council directed staff to add language to the draft general-plan text to flag the issue for further study and possible outreach to state legislators, with the option to remove that element from the adopted text if the council prefers until additional research is completed.

Next steps: planning staff will add a policy goal or study recommendation into the draft language for public review; the general plan element must be adopted by the end of the year under state timelines, and the council indicated the adoption hearing will be scheduled to meet that deadline.