Page council and utility board prioritize treatment-plant upgrade, emergency plan while seeking federal funds for redundant water supply

On Oct. 2, 2024, the Page City Council and the Page Utility Board met in a joint special session to review options for creating a redundant water supply for Page and to set short-term priorities while federal funding and detailed studies continue.

The board and council agreed to prioritize three tasks: move forward on a water-treatment-plant upgrade that officials estimate at $7.5 million to double licensed capacity, complete an emergency contingency plan ("Plan B") that addresses the town's single-point vulnerabilities, and continue pursuing federal and private funding to make larger pipeline or intake projects feasible. Brian, a utility staff member, told the joint meeting that "you have enough water allocation with your 2,740 consumptive use to double in size essentially," while cautioning the town lacks the pumping infrastructure and redundancy to support large expansion without additional projects.

Why it matters: Page draws water through a system that includes an aging 12-inch concrete pipeline through the dam and pumps that together create a single-path vulnerability. Consultants and board members said that a structural failure or major electrical switchgear outage could leave the town with only days of storage and expensive emergency options such as hauling water. The board described the Bureau of Reclamation's 2004 study as a technical foundation that still supports pursuing a separate redundant intake or pipeline, but stressed the timeframes and approvals required from federal agencies.

What the meeting covered: Utility staff and consultant Richard Humphrey reviewed four master-plan options: (1) build a second pumping plant and second pipeline at the dam (estimated then at roughly $22M and inflation-adjusted here to about $30M); (2) install an upstream intake at the "chains" and run a new pipeline (estimated locally at about $48M after inflation); (3) participate in a Lake Pal pipeline intake that is not currently feasible; and (4) augment supply with wells (likely the most costly and geologically challenging for Page). Staff said those cost ranges are preliminary and that inflation and project scope adjustments change numbers. Jeff Jones, a PU board member who worked for the Bureau of Reclamation, warned that even a locally funded project that required Department of the Interior approvals could take many years.

Funding status and near-term work: Officials said Congress allocated about $4 million in prior appropriations split between a $500,000 portion for near-term water-treatment-plant work and $3.5 million aimed at design and shovel-ready tasks for an intake/pipeline; those allocations remain held up in EPA and federal review processes. Staff said they are also pursuing a concurrent $3 million congressional allocation for the water-treatment-plant project and are engaging grant writers, lobbyists and consulting firms to unlock the money. The utility currently holds roughly $8.2 million in reserves that could be applied incrementally but leaders said relying solely on local debt or bonds could force large rate increases for customers.

Emergency planning and system condition: Consultants are drafting an emergency response plan that will assess how long existing storage would sustain the city in the event of a failure, identify bypass or temporary delivery options, and recommend inspections and targeted replacements (notably switchgear and the oldest 12-inch pipe sections). As Richard Humphrey put it in the discussion, the utility "doesn't have a plan B right now," and the lack of redundancy is a primary risk to address before large-scale expansion.

Regional coordination: The meeting also covered ongoing talks with the Navajo Nation and work at the former NGS intake. Participants said the Navajo Nation has discussed taking about 940 acre-feet and that there are informal conversations about Page potentially becoming a raw-water customer, but no memorandum of understanding was in hand and officials cautioned against relying on that as a funding path until agreements are formalized.

Council direction and next steps: Councilors and the board agreed there was no need for an immediate vote but endorsed staff continuing the current path: (1) advance the water-treatment-plant upgrade to make the project shovel-ready, (2) finalize the Plan B emergency plan and related inspections, and (3) continue pursuing funding and Bureau coordination for a redundant intake/pipeline. The board also asked staff to explore costs from private infrastructure partners and to increase the cadence of joint coordination (the board proposed meeting quarterly).

The meeting closed with staff committing to circulate a draft Plan B within months and to keep Council updated; no formal ordinance or binding financial approval was made at the session.