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Council hears progress on wastewater treatment upgrades and reports $35M in water‑rights purchases
Summary
Officials reported the wastewater plant is nearing completion of filtration to produce type‑1 effluent and detailed purchases of nearly 3,000 acre‑feet of senior water rights (about $35M total); council flagged pipeline, pump station and booster projects as next priorities likely to require grants or bonding.
City staff and Mayor Garth Green updated the council on two linked strands of water work: producing higher‑quality treated effluent at the wastewater plant and securing senior water rights to shore up safe‑yield supplies.
The mayor said the filtration building and equipment have been installed and the plant will soon produce type‑1 effluent suitable for irrigation of parks, school grounds and other public areas. "The building is complete. The filtration equipment is installed... The facility will be finished within the next month or 2, finally allowing Cedar City to produce type 1 effluent water," he said.
At the same time, staff recounted a series of water‑rights acquisitions — including purchases from Holt Farms, Benson Wright and the Hardin family — that collectively increased the city's safe‑yield senior water rights from about 2,000 acre‑feet to more than 5,000 acre‑feet on paper, with nearly 3,000 acre‑feet of newly secured safe‑yield rights bought during the mayor’s term. The mayor reported roughly $35 million in total water‑rights purchases and about $18 million financed.
Why it matters: Staff said the reclaimed effluent promises to replace a substantial portion of culinary water used for irrigation and to reduce dependence on shrinking groundwater resources. The next technical step is construction of pump stations and a 7–8 mile pipeline to bring effluent into the secondary system; engineering estimates and funding were flagged as substantial barriers.
Conflicts and procurement: The mayor noted that Action Contracting — a company he founded decades ago and now owned by his sons and another community member — submitted a bid and was awarded the filtration contract; the mayor acknowledged the company’s involvement and praised the work completed. Council discussed procurement logistics for downstream pipeline work and flagged the likely need for multiple funding sources.
Next procedural step: Council asked staff to prioritize funding options, and the administration signaled the pipeline/pump station work should begin soon to realize the reclaimed supply.
