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Water district pitches ‘ultra‑efficient’ home standard that could cut developer impact fees
Summary
Washington County Water Conservancy District conservation manager Doug Bennett briefed Washington City Council on a voluntary ultrawater‑efficient building standard that targets roughly 100,000 gallons per household per year and could lower a developer's impact fee by about $5,800 compared with the current standard.
Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Washington County Water Conservancy District, told Washington City Council the district is promoting a voluntary “ultra water efficient” standard for new homes that the district estimates would cut typical per‑household potable water demand to roughly 100,000 gallons a year — about 39 acre‑feet in the district’s modeling.
Bennett said the district has calibrated the proposal so it would reduce the water impact fee for builders from roughly $17,200 under the prior benchmark to about $11,400 for the ultra‑efficient option, a savings of about $5,800 per lot. "This is trading some of the potential challenges for a $5,800 discount in your water impact fee," Bennett said.
The proposal pairs three elements: plumbing and landscape design standards that reduce irrigation demand (no private lawns, drip irrigation limits, restrictions on private pools and large water features), a utility rate structure that provides an 8,000‑gallon monthly allowance before excess‑use charges apply, and plat/CC&R language and building‑inspection checks to help ensure long‑term performance. Bennett said the 8,000‑gallon monthly threshold is consistent with an existing secondary‑water tier many cities use.
Council members pressed Bennett and city staff on operational questions: how performance would be enforced, what inspections would look like, and whether the city would retain the option to provide secondary (nonpotable) irrigation water in future developments. Bennett and staff said enforcement would rely on a combination of building department checks, mandated plat notes, homeowner association oversight where present and spot checks (not a full policing regime). He also said the district anticipates building a single graded pad and infrastructure for multiple storage tanks in some growth areas but would build tanks incrementally as demand materializes.
Why it matters: The council is weighing how to balance housing affordability and developer costs against long‑term water supply constraints in a drought‑prone region. If the council opts to adopt the standard, it would change developer economics and the landscape expectations on new lots; if it declines, developers could still build to existing standards. Thompson of council members suggested staff continue evaluating implementation details and impacts to building permitting and long‑term utility planning.
What's next: Staff said the district and city will continue discussions; developers and builders will receive technical information and a sample plat note. The council did not take a binding vote on the policy at the workshop.
