Council & Water
by Kathy bence
Photo by Lori Cole
A nearby low-water using resident,who is also an endangered Desert Tortoise from the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area
This July 17 City Council meeting was another relatively short one. Water seemed to be the major focus of the meeting, but forty dollar chickens made a final appearance also.
Public Comments
There was a little back and forth on this public comment session. Ray Bence expressed concern about the water situation in Toquerville in the event of an emergency. The mayor pointed out that Toquerville is in better shape than most cities. Toquerville has 1.5 and will soon have 3.5 million gallons of stored water.
Toquerville is more fortunate than many cities because we have a water source near Twin Falls. (incorrectly called Toquerville Falls) We have holding tanks which are gravity fed to homes.
Ray’s concern is that if the electric grid goes down for an extended period, water would not get to the tanks from the water source. The city would be out of stored water in less than a month.
A back up method such as extra propane or solar to pump water from the source to the tanks would keep the water flowing in the event of a power failure. But should the city spend money preparing for this doomsday possibility? I don’t have the answer.
excess water use surcharges
Speaking of water, the mayor introduced Doug, from the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD). He was filling in for someone else listed on the agenda.
His presentation began,
“…our water resources are very close to their limits and that’s the reason that we implement these new standards and that’s the reason we have policies such as an excess use surcharge…”
Michelle Peot’s posts provide facts about the current Southern Utah water situation.
Doug said that in 2017 the state had mandated .89 acre foot of water for every residential connection. Otherwise, no new building was allowed. As a result, builders found ways to build more efficiently so .59 is now required. Part of the .59 strategy includes this excess water use surcharge. The goal is to NOT build and then NOT have water for the buildings, as he said happened in Arizona.
The City Council discussed and ultimately unanimously approved three resolutions on this subject which put the city in line with the WCWCD expectations. We are the last city in the district to do so.
The first resolution authorizes an increase in the Excess Water Use Surcharge for existing connections. The second authorizes an increase in the Excess Water Use Surcharge for new connections made on or after Jan 1, 2023. The third approves the Uniform Fee Schedule implementing the WCWCD excess water use surcharge increase. The details are spelled out in each of these resolutions.
Adios forty dollar Chickens
This is the final solution to the chicken issue that Brian humorously described in December. Two resolutions unanimously passed.
Chickens will no longer be regulated under the livestock code. Instead, chicken regulations are now considered a permitted use under the Single-Family Residential District code. Some of the highlights of these two resolutions mean that you don’t need a permit to get chickens and you won’t pay a chicken fee. However, single-family-home-chickens need to be in the backyard, there’s a limit of 20 chickens, and there needs to be a 10 foot distance from the property line for a chicken coop.
Interium City manager & planning & Zoning Administrator
Darrin LeFevre was appointed as interim City Manager. Emily Teaters will be over Planning and Zoning.
Brief Bypass update
As we’ve all noticed, the big rock visible in the bypass road has been turned into small rocks. Mayor Sip gave a brief update on what is happening.
Calendar
24th of July Celebration, Wednesday, 7:30 am at the City Park.