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Town faces prolonged chlorination after failed tests; meter replacement prioritized
Summary
Star Valley Ranch will remain on EPA-mandated chlorination after multiple failed samples; council heard that replacing residential meters is critical to resolve a roughly 36% measured water loss and to inform tank-sizing decisions.
Mayor Rok and town staff told the council Dec. 9 that the town’s water system has been returned to chlorination after 14 failed samples triggered an EPA level 2 assessment.
Town Administrator Aitken said the EPA contact told him she intends to keep the town on chlorination: "Mark my words, it is my goal to keep you on chlorination. That's what my job is and that's what I'm going to try to do." He added that the town has spent "well over $100,000 into this since turning the chlorination off," and described ongoing monthly stress around test results.
Town Engineer Ryan Welling told the council that the meter-replacement project is essential to understanding system losses and planning storage: "Until we replace these big meters and know what's coming in and then we know what's going out, we don't really know what we need to know on how big of a tank we put up there." Welling said current calculations show the town is about "36 percent off" between production and metered amounts.
Mayor Rok reported the lowest residential-meter bid had been negotiated to $497,264, within the council’s $500,000 budget. Council members discussed customer reactions to more accurate meters and whether to add a paid customer-portal feature; Administrator Aitken recommended staying within the budget for now and adding optional software later.
Councilman Merrill pressed for prioritizing long-term infrastructure work regardless of chlorination status, saying the town should ensure clean water "no matter what." Aitken said planned tank replacements and the Prater Canyon line remain budgeted priorities.
The council did not take a formal vote on procurement during the work session; staff advised replacing meters before committing to storage-sizing decisions. The meter project and continued chlorination are scheduled for additional review and will appear on future council agendas.
