Manti water official: springs producing now but summer use could double; treatment plant work continues

Corey Hatch, the city’s public works director, delivered the city’s outdoor-watering forecast and a status update on water infrastructure at the April 15 council meeting.

Hatch said the town is currently using about 500–525,000 gallons per day for culinary use (roughly 365 gallons per minute); the springs that supply most culinary water are producing adequately at present. He warned that as outdoor watering ramps up in the summer the town’s culinary demand historically peaks near 1.2 million gallons per day.

The city tested its backup well and ran cycles to ensure reliability. Hatch said samples have been good and staff are watching two springs (Big Spring and Sister Spring) that state drinking-water rules require to be placed in service June 1 and kept in through Oct. 15; those schedules could shift depending on snowpack and system needs. He noted the city has paid engineering and equipment invoices as part of water treatment plant design and urged residents to delay outdoor watering until pressurized irrigation comes online to reduce culinary use.

Council members asked whether increased culinary use for yards would compromise fire hydrant supply; Hatch said the system and backup well provide adequate capacity now, and the treatment plant completion will allow better use of spring flow. He encouraged residents to follow the posted outdoor-watering guidelines and said staff will post the draft watering regulations online and make printed copies available at the city office.