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Castle Valley advisory committee advances multi‑phase water‑metering plan and pilot recruitment
Summary
The Water Advisory Committee reviewed proposed ordinance and permit revisions that would require meters on new wells, discussed a volunteer pilot and four implementation phases, and debated technical, cost and funding questions for deploying a networked metering system.
The Castle Valley Water Advisory Committee on Wednesday discussed proposed revisions to the town's water‑use agreement, permitting process and an ordinance that would require meters on new wells and, over time, on existing town water‑right holders.
Committee members described a phased approach: a volunteer pilot to test off‑the‑shelf "totalizer" devices, a policy to require meters for new permits while increasing permit fees to cover costs, a two‑to six‑year onboarding window for existing right‑holders (tentatively 2028'2033), and a final phase expanding monitoring to all users in the valley to produce a comprehensive picture of use. A member framed the devices as "little electric devices" that infer water use by recording pump run time rather than measuring flow directly.
The committee discussed funding options including grants, cost recovery through permit fees and partial cost‑sharing by users. One member estimated the town's initial acquisition and installation cost per meter could be modest, while a technology adviser cautioned that communications and network repeaters add cost and complexity: repeaters and some infrastructure to avoid data "dead spots" could add roughly US$100 per repeater plus installation or solar power in dispersed locations.
Technical and legal questions dominated the exchange. Members asked whether the state will accept totalizer‑style measurements; the committee heard that the state engineer's office appears open to indirect metering approaches and that the town should demonstrate a working, provable system for wider acceptance. Committee members noted Utah code and state enforcement timelines for metering, emphasizing the need for local legal review and the committee's plan to consult a water attorney.
Several residents and members volunteered to host pilot meters. The committee asked staff to develop a pilot recruitment plan, refine cost estimates and test network reliability prior to broader rollout.
The committee did not adopt a final ordinance; the discussion closed with direction to flesh out the pilot, funding sources and technology choices before returning with a more detailed implementation plan.
