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Board of Health orders Wagon Wheel Apartments owner to restore potable water within seven days
Summary
After tenant testimony and public-health staff findings, the Granite County Board of Health voted to order owner Sam Martin Jr. to restore potable water and test it at his expense within seven days; the motion carried with one abstention. Tenants reported prolonged water outages and prior garbage accumulation.
The Granite County Board of Health voted to issue an order requiring the owner of Wagon Wheel Apartments in Drummond, Sam Martin Jr., to restore potable water service and provide bacterial testing at his expense within seven days.
The order followed testimony from tenants and a legal briefing from County Attorney Blaine Bradshaw. Tenants told the board they had been without reliable potable water and that garbage previously piled near the property created public-health concerns. "There is still some furniture left out… the well is not dry," tenant Glenda Brady said during public comment, and later a technician reported about 25–30 feet of standing water in the well once the pump was accessed, suggesting the problem was a defective pump seal rather than a permanently dry aquifer.
Why it matters: County public-health staff and the county attorney said the situation created an immediate risk to tenants’ health and safety. Bradshaw recommended a narrowly tailored order focused on restoring potable water, testing it, and maintaining a clean environment; he said criminal penalties (misdemeanor) are available for noncompliance. Local health officer Dr. Khan and other board members emphasized using temporary fixes to avoid displacing tenants while a permanent remedy is pursued.
The board’s action: A motion directing the owner to have potable water restored and tested within seven days passed with one abstention (speaker 15). The board discussed alternative enforcement steps — including closure orders if conditions do not improve — but the immediate directive was an interim measure to preserve tenants’ housing while requiring the owner to act.
What the board and tenants said: County Attorney Blaine Bradshaw summarized prior correspondence with the owner and the failed compliance expectation, saying tenants had been told the garbage would be removed but it had not been done. Tenants described difficulty contacting the owner and intermittent utility connections; one tenant said the owner still collected rent while utilities were not fully restored. "If there's no compliance, remedies include misdemeanor charges or, ultimately, closure," Bradshaw told the board.
Next steps: Bradshaw said he will draft the order and circulate it to staff for signature. Health staff agreed to support bacterial testing once the pump is functioning and to monitor compliance. The board said it would reconvene quickly if the order is not followed and could consider a closure order as a last resort.
Evidence: The board’s decision was grounded in tenant statements on the record and reports from local public-health staff and a pump technician who inspected the well.
