Chair Pam Gardiol stated this change comes about because the Washington County Water Conservancy District's strategy has changed and no longer requires secondary water for outside landscaping. This is the public's opportunity to provide their opinion. She opened the Public Hearing. Wayne Pennington lives on Two Moons Circle and stated he has been looking into secondary water systems the last few years and fully supports this move. He thinks secondary water systems require far more plumbing than needed, it is expensive to put in, and the potential for maintenance is more likely. The move to have fully recycled water is the way we should be going and the way that the District is going. He fully supports this amendment. Lisa Ganz inquired what it cost a developer to install these systems initially on the homes that already have a secondary water system, and what has the cost been to the buyer? She is sure that developers pass those costs on to the buyer. She wonders about the unintended consequence if we sometime down the road decide we want to install secondary water systems, what will that installation cost be after-the-fact? If the cost is minimal, it may be prudent to continue to install them. Bryan Pack stated that no one else was on Zoom. Hearing no other comments, Chair Pam Gardiol closed the Public Hearing.
Mike Haycock stated we need to decide whether to keep developers installing those systems, doing that cost, or not. We are respecting the Washington County Water Conservancy's wishes. There is a cost but he doesn't know what it is. We don't feel like this system will ever be used. Bryan Pack stated there is savings to a builder, not a huge amount, but that savings could potentially be passed on to buyers. While a lot of subdivisions have lines for the secondary system, there is no delivery system. That potential cost is in the tens of millions of dollars, a huge amount to implement. With the Washington County Water Conservancy's change in strategy, it saves the city tens of millions of dollars in delivery. Commissioner Doug Clifford stated that when he was the Mayor in Pleasantville, most of the older communities that had streams or long existing water sources had a secondary water system planned. Most areas there were like old Ivins with large backyards for gardens, orchards, animals and having water for that capability was really important. That delivery system was used for all the outside irrigation for sprinklers around homes and property and they started that years ago. Why that didn't happen down here, he doesn't know. It would be really expensive and tearing up streets to put in piping is no small thing. We have no good source of secondary water here. The mentality has changed from providing cheaper water to not having a need for irrigation and conserving. There was a time when it was needed, and that time has passed. Commissioner Dave Robinson stated that the subdivision was required to put it in, but the trunk lines are not in all places and that is where the cost is, tearing up the streets to get those trunk lines in. Not all subdivisions have them. Many of the more recent ones do. We have a friend that has secondary water and turns it off for the winter and when he turns it back on, it needs a flushed line and the sprinkler system clogs with sediment. It is a problematic system, and its like lake water. It does not make sense to keep forcing people to do it in caring for the system, in the amount of money it costs and make it usable and we would need a whole other billing system. Commissioner Perry Brown stated he has nothing to add. Chair Pam Gardiol inquired how do we manage the water? The Conservancy District is working diligently to address the needs for water throughout the County and Ivins is notably one of the most water conscious cities in the state. There is a dual approach to making this secondary system obsolete. Commissioner Brandon Weight stated that it is redundant to have a dual system. There is inherent loss and waste in a secondary system. There will not be a source and it would be unwise to continue to put these systems in. Commissioner Perry Brown stated we are in consensus. The Washington County Water Conservancy District is not proposing to even have secondary water available to us. They are converting to culinary water with new processing plants. We should not require developers to prepare for something that is not going to happen.
MOTION: Commissioner Perry Brown moved to approve recommendation regarding Amending the Subdivision Ordinance to Remove Requirements for Installation of Secondary Water Systems on New Development, as the findings in the ordinance as drafted fit our decision. Roll Call Unanimous.
SECOND: Commissioner Dave Robinson
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Chair Pam Gardiol |
AYE |
| Commissioner Dave Robinson |
AYE |
| Commissioner Brandon Weight |
AYE |
| Commissioner Doug Clifford |
AYE |
| Commissioner Perry Brown |
AYE |