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Farmington council begins drafting drought-stage rules, urges appeals process and tiered rates
Summary
Council and staff discussed adding an appeals process to drought-stage rules, tying triggers to Benchland Water District and Weber Basin actions, and potential tiered water rates; staff warned cross-contamination is illegal and secondary water may be shut off if contaminants are found.
Farmington officials spent substantial time June 2 discussing how to implement drought-stage rules as the community faces an unusually low snowpack.
Public Works Director Larry Famuliner told the Council that Farmington may need to enter Phase 1 of its drought response within a month and that staging decisions could be coordinated with announcements from Benchland Water District and Weber Basin. Famuliner said Benchland holds 30 million gallons and that Farmington’s use is about 3 million gallons per day. He said Benchland has signaled it may turn off secondary water by Sept. 1, 2026, which would affect outdoor watering across many properties.
Assistant City Manager and City Engineer Chad Boshell warned the Council that residents sometimes use culinary (drinking) water for secondary purposes — for example, by hooking culinary water to an irrigation system without proper backflow prevention — and that such cross-contamination is illegal. Famuliner said state statute permits shutting off water where cross-contamination is discovered, and that repeated violations (three warnings) could trigger shutoff of secondary water to a property until the issue is resolved.
City Attorney Paul Roberts recommended adding a formal appeals process to the drought policy so residents could contest critical-stage declarations or enforcement actions. Staff also noted that data logs track hourly water use and that residents are allocated a baseline amount (5,000 gallons); after that amount the City would apply higher charges per 1,000 gallons under a tiered-rate approach staff said is being encouraged by state water meeting advocates.
Councilmembers asked staff to prepare a revised policy for Council review; Famuliner said staff will rework the policy and bring it back for final approval.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; Council directed staff to draft policy language and return with specifics on triggers, enforcement, and appeals.
