For several weeks, an increasing amount of time in my visits with Mapleton residents has been occupied by discussions regarding the state of water in our City. Conversation topics included the following: pressurized irrigation (PI), ditch irrigation, culinary water, water rights, adequacy of water, water pressure, water sources, ponds, wells, Hobble Creek usage, recreational water, water conservation, water equity, cost of water, water regulations, water metering, water mapping, certificated water, Strawberry water, water deeding, Mapleton Water District ownership versus Mapleton City ownership, investing in water, independent pressurized systems, water zones, and the list goes on.  (Seriously.  This was just off the top of my head. Hang in there, there is a bullet list coming up!)

I’m pretty sure you get my point on this one.

Realizing my C+ understanding of our complex water issues was inadequate, I sought City Engineer Steven Lord.  Now, if you haven’t met Steven Lord, you’re missing out.  Like the other City employees with whom I’ve spoken, he is a delightful mix of approachability and expertise.  A quick wit and underlying humility quickly endeared me to him and, as such, he has been the unfortunate recipient of likely far-too-many emails (honorable mentions also go to Camille Brown, Cory Branch, and Sean Conroy). 

Like Drinking from a Fire Hose

After organizing my thoughts, I spent another hour with Steven this week for a crash course in Mapleton water. The most important thing I’d share with citizens is that the City completed in October 2018 and externally-contracted Water Resources Master Plan.  Basically, this is a 74 page document that tells us the history, current state, and future needs to ensure water adequacy through build-out (estimated at about 29,000 residents in 2016).  The report is found on the Mapleton City Public Works website or, directly, here.  However, after meeting with Steven and reviewing the report, I’m going to translate some highlights into a Cliffs Notes version that will hopefully provide some education and direct questions to existing resources.

20 Things I Learned About Water This Week

1. We have a current Water Master Plan. The Plan provides recommendations to correct deficiencies, improve connectivity, and expand the systems to accommodate growth. There are great long-term strategies reaching six years, 10 years, and through total buildout (anticipated 2061).
2. Mapleton Water District and Mapleton City are not the same. The District gets the PI water, the City delivers it to citizens.
3. Our culinary system is good. It is “…in good condition and provides adequate pressures in accordance with the requirements of UAC R309-510.”  (Bonus:  Fire suppression flows and pressures also meet requirements.)
4. Recent changes on water rights distribution = good for some people. Historically, water rights have been tied to an exact geographic pinpoint; new regulations give water rights to a broader area. This can be good for people who want to develop their own land by providing more flexibility to the development at a cost savings.
5. Dry pipe – it’s in there. Dry pipe for pressurized irrigation has been required of developers since 1998.
6. Bye, bye canals. To improve water conservation and in conjunction with planned development, the Plan recommends elimination of the canal/ditch system and flood irrigation over time.
7. Minimum requirements cover big houses. The minimum requirement for residential fire flow and residential development is 2000 gpm, which covers up to a 6200 square foot home.
8. We meet PSI requirements. Subdivisions developed after January 1, 2007 are required to have at least 40 psi during peak day demand; we meet and exceed that.
9. Changing to PI may require updated sprinkler systems.  Not enough pressure to your sprinklers?  Try updating your sprinkler system to heads appropriate for PI.
10. PI and gravity aren’t friends. We have a lot of hillsides we can’t develop and 355 developable acres on the east bench that are too high for the City’s pressurized irrigation; they’ll have to stay on culinary water.  (There are about 230 acres elsewhere that can’t connect to the City’s PI either.)
11. Get the PI done, but it might take a decade. The master plan repeatedly emphasizes the importance of completing the pressurized irrigation project – “If the pressurized irrigation system is not fully developed according to the recommendations of this report, the culinary system will need to provide additional water for outdoor uses. For this reason, timely and full development of the proposed pressurized irrigation system is critical to the success of the culinary water system as analyzed in this master plan.”
12. Developers must bring water to the table. Mapleton City Code (17.24.080) is where the City requires developers to dedicate water rights to the City adequate to satisfy anticipated water needs of a proposed development. This MUST be sustained to ensure sufficient water.
13. More sources, please. New sources of water are needed to increase reliability and address growth, including wells, which should begin the approvals processes immediately (approvals take a while). A storage reservoir and a new water source to supply the reservoir were recommended for Harmony Ridge/Mapleton Village/Twin Hollow/Preserve.
14. Emergency storage is good… for now. If PI isn’t built-out, additional storage will be required to provide emergency storage (even if the emergency storage isn’t mandated by the State, it’s our goal to have it for at least a day; the pond holds two days of peak storage requirements already). Keep the bond full for a storage buffer!
15. Bigger, better pipes. There are lots of specific recommendations to increase existing pipe sizes and increase future size requirements.
16. Salamanders suck. Salamanders and algae are messing up the PI pumps and plugging filters.  Fixing the issues is difficult, but would save on maintenance and increase stability.  Large-month bass, aeration, and chemical algaecides are potential considerations.  (Maybe we should rethink that old hatchery initiative!)
17. PI priorities are trunk lines. The “trunks” include priority buildouts by 2024 of Maple, Slant, 800 S, 1600 S, 800 W and by 2018 of 1600 W, 800 W, Main, 1200 N, Dogwood/1200 E/800 E/1100 S, and 1600 S. (The lack of adequate trunk lines is why we can’t get over to Harvest Park – there isn’t enough pressure or flow in what we currently have in our narrow pipes.)
18. Details, details, details. Priorities, timelines, and costs are provided on pages 61-66.
19. Priorities may change. The plan gives priority recommendations, but also cautions us to consider the priorities as the situations change.
20. Show me the money. None of this will happen without funding.  We’re currently maintaining our systems adequately – our rates cover our expenses – but we can’t grow services without additional capital (even existing matching grants would require we have skin in the game – we don’t have it). Bonding and fees are the quickest way to cash, both are common practices, but are highly controversial. (Perhaps if we can diversify our funding sources with additional commercial development in appropriate areas, statewide tax reform, and reallocating funds from high property taxes to water investments, the citizens can end up with a net zero without bonding or fees.  A girl can dream, right?)

After meetings and research, I’d like to think my Mapleton Water 101 grade is now at least a B+.  I hope this information has been helpful for you as well – don’t forget to check out the awesome maps below, too (click to get to the larger files)! 

Disclaimer:  Please refer to the Plan itself and consult with your personal engineer to validate accuracy of these statements.  Better yet, give Steven a visit. (You’ll definitely learn something – and enjoy it!)