Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — The aging pipeline connecting Pineview Reservoir, a key source of drinking water in Weber County, and the city of Ogden has long been a point of debate and concern.
Now, the project is finally materializing, as the Ogden City Council considers rate hikes later this month that would gradually raise the fees water customers pay by 25% through 2029. The funds generated by the proposed increases are needed to help cover the cost of borrowing the money required to pay for the $99 million project. The question of borrowing $77 million to $82.1 million to finance the plans comes up for consideration by the City Council next Tuesday.
The dollar amounts may be big, with the first of several proposed rate hikes to take effect starting July 1 presuming the increases get the green light. But a city official says the project, long overdue, is needed. Work could start later this year, taking four to five years in all.
"It's truly a once-in-a-lifetime project," said Mike McBride, spokesmann for Mayor Ben Nadolski. "It's a really major project and very important to the city."
The 6.4-mile, 36 inch-wide pipeline through the Ogden Canyon that's a key focus of the initiative, is 90 years old and at the end of its life. As is, it leaks some 3 million gallons of water a day, equivalent to around 9 acre-feet of water, according to McBride.
Significantly, the new network would end that leakage. But the benefits, proponents say, don't stop there — per a plan hammered out with the state and other players, more water would be delivered to the Willard Spur Waterfowl Management Area, which feeds into the Great Salt Lake. That increased flow — 1,500 acre feet each August for 15 years, McBride said — would go a long way in curbing the avian botulism that kills tens of thousands of birds each year that fly through the area. The added water would help stem the bacterial growth that leads to the botulism.
Kerry Gibson, a former Utah House member and Weber County commissioner, helped hammer out the accord with the varied players that outlines the diversion of the Ogden water to Willard Spur. That provision figured in state lawmakers' decision earlier this year to allocate $10 million to help pay for the project.
"I don't know how anyone can see this in any way but a huge win for Ogden and the state of Utah, as well as every resident of the state of Utah. This project is truly innovative and amazing," said Gibson, who received $30,000 from Ogden for his efforts lobbying on behalf of the city.
Project plans call for replacement of three segments of pipeline measuring 7.25 miles in all. One section goes from Pineview Reservoir to the city's nearby water treatment plant at the eastern mouth of the Ogden Canyon. The longest stretch goes from the treatment plant west to the western mouth of the canyon on Ogden's eastern periphery. The final section goes from the western mouth of the canyon to water reservoirs on 23rd Street in Ogden.
The water hauled from Pineview Reservoir and Pineview well fields via the nearby treatment plant and the Ogden Canyon serves as the primary source of water for Ogden as well as neighboring communities, around 111,000 people in all, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"The city also has other water sources, but the well field and treatment plant are its primary water sources," the city said in a statement to KSL.com.
25% boost in water bills
Of course, the project's price tag is big given its scope, and rate hikes for water users would help cover the cost.
Apart from the $10 million from the state, the city would provide $12 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds it received in 2021. That leaves some $77 million, which would be provided by the state and feds in the form of loans, to be paid back over 40 years via the bonding plan that's the focus of discussion by the Ogden City Council and a public hearing next Tuesday.
The annual bond payments would be covered, at least in part, by the proposed rate increases water users would face. Those rate increases, city officials estimate, would generate an extra $1.6 million to $2.2 million a year.
The hikes, focus of a planned June 18 public hearing, call for 4% increases per year for five years in the base water rate customers pay as well as the tiered rate that's based on actual consumption. On top of that, the fees would be subject to inflationary increases each year.
The fixed hikes in the base and tiered rates, by themselves, would boost the annual water bill for a residential customer using 5,000 gallons of water a month by 25.5% between fiscal year 2024, which ends June 30, and fiscal year 2029, which ends June 30, 2029. More specifically, the annual water cost would go from $442.68 per year to $555.48 in the period.
The inflationary increases, calculated from year to year, are based on changing variables and would add to the increases. Inflationary increases between 2022 and 2024 ranged from 1.8% to 7.73%, according to city data.
