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Emorytown officials ask agencies for help as drought threatens town water supply
Summary
Representatives of Emorytown and Muddy Creek Irrigation Company told the council the town could face culinary-water shortages this year and invited agencies and elected officials to a June 18 meeting to explore short- and long-term storage solutions; the council voted to send a support letter.
Misty Christiansen, speaking for Emerytown and the Muddy Creek Irrigation Company, told the Emery County Public Lands Council that the town faces a possible shortfall in culinary water this year amid a severe drought and limited local storage capacity.
She invited county officials, state and federal agencies and elected representatives to a brainstorming meeting set for June 18 at 4 p.m. at the Emory rec center (the meeting location was later changed to the senior center). Misty said emergency measures under consideration include temporary pumping and hauling for short-term needs and that long-term solutions would require building lower-elevation storage such as the previously studied Morris Bend site.
Misty described existing storage: Julius and Larson’s reservoirs are in service but at high elevation and insufficient to guarantee town supply for a full year. She said prior studies identified roughly 1,000 acre-feet of potential reservoir capacity at Morris Bend and that past federal funding rules (cited historically to post-2012 shifts) had limited reservoir financing options.
A council member moved that the council send a letter supporting Emerytown’s exploration of storage and funding options; the motion passed by voice vote. Council staff and Misty will coordinate drafting the letter.
The meeting June 18 is expected to include the governor’s office in coordinating agencies and elected officials. Misty asked that the Washington delegation and county commissioners consider funding and other assistance options; a senator’s representative at the council said he would take the request back to the senator.
