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WEBER COUNTY — Roughly 150 customers in Davis and Weber counties have had their secondary water shut off, part of a hardline approach to water conservation by one canal company.
Davis and Weber Counties Canal Company General Manager Ivan Ray said Friday the enforcement measures have come after repeat warnings to most of the offenders, and following the announcement of secondary water restrictions earlier this month.
"It's not fair to everybody else," Ray said. "It's only fair that those who don't want to abide will be turned off, until they can show where they can comply."
Restrictions in areas of Roy, South Weber, West Point, Syracuse, Clinton, Layton and Kaysville limit watering to no more than 30 minutes per station after 6 p.m. and before 10 a.m.
Each house can only water two days per week. The days are set according to the last house numbers. For example, house numbers that end in 0, 1, 2 or 3 have been asked to water on Monday and Thursday each week.
"[Violators] were abusing the time of day and also spreading water on other properties that were not designated to receive secondary pressurized water," Ray said.
"If you got it turned off, it was because you were abusing your privilege. Privileges are that - privileges. They're not rights." Penny Hall, farmer
The tough-love approach has yielded results. Since the conservation measures went into place, Ray said 1,178 acre-feet have been saved. That's enough, he said, to irrigate 350 farm acres for the season or to water the lawns and gardens of about 1,000 homes.
While most everybody seems on the same page with the need to conserve, some community leaders have raised concerns about the hardline message.
"Our only worry has been using city resources to get the word out if the word is a little less than friendly," said Kaysville Mayor Steve Hiatt.
Hiatt said the canal company supplies Kaysville with about a third of its secondary water.
"We think we'll get a lot farther if we take a little more of a team approach," Hiatt said.
The city, Hiatt said, was working to spread a conservation message through various channels, including email and Facebook.
Ray said his office has fielded some complaints, but even a large number of penalized users have been understanding about the situation. Getting the water turned back on costs $50 and requires commitment to the conservation steps.
West Point farmer Penny Hall raises sheep, among other animals. She said she is already taking the shallow water picture seriously and she supports the canal company's countermeasures.
"You received a notice in the city bill, they mailed out a flier and it's been talked about," Hall said. "If you got it turned off, it was because you were abusing your privilege. Privileges are that — privileges. They're not rights. You earn privileges, you don't get privileges."
