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Show Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri, December 24-27, 2019 A-3 The Park Record County Seat Look for me online at PropertyShopParkCity COUNTY EDITOR: ALEXANDER CRAMER 649–9014 EXT. 15712 | Countynews@parkrecord.com FaceBook Instagram Energy saver yields $300K Gravity powers some Mountain Regional pumps R E A L E S TAT E I N S I G H T S . W H AT S H O U L D I D I S C L O S E T O P O T E N T I A L B U Y E R S ? A common question I get is what should I disclose to potential buyer when selling my house? The answer is EVERYTHING you can think of up front. Overdisclose. Leave no item out. The real estate purchase contract requires you to disclose all material facts. If you don’t, the buyers are going to find out anyways and you will be in breech. Additionally, the buyer will have the home inspected, which will reveal these issues, regardless. So the best recipe is transparency. ALEXANDER CRAMER The Park Record The Mountain Regional Water Special Service District provides water to thousands of Summit County residents, maintaining miles of pipes, storage tanks that hold millions of gallons and all the valves and pumps that make the system work. They serve customers at many elevations, pumping water up and down hills from wells to storage tanks and homes. Doug Evans, a former general manager and chief technical officer of the district, said he always thought about that wasted energy. “We pump so much into Promontory — up one hill, down into the (Snyderville) Basin,” he said. “I don’t think people understand how much energy it takes to live on a mountain.” So when designing the Silver Creek pump station expansion a couple of years ago, the district incorporated one seemingly simple design element that Evans estimated saves the district about $300,000 annually. And it cost less than $30,000 to install. The water coming downhill from a well near Promontory now spins a turbine on the way into two massive holding tanks at the pump station. That turbine M I C H A E L H AT Z G L O B A L R E A L E S TAT E A D V I S O R +1 4 3 5 9 0 1 - 0 7 2 1 w w w . M i c h a e l H a t z . R E A LT O R ALEXANDER CRAMER/PARK RECORD Doug Evans stands next to a turbine that uses the power of water running downhill to offset the Silver Creek pump station’s energy use, saving $300,000 annually. He equates it to using gravity as a battery. produces roughly enough energy to power the pumps that are used to pressurize that water and put it back into the system when it’s needed. Chris Braun, the district’s chief technical officer, said the turbine generates about 70 kilowatts and offsets 80%-90% of the pump station’s energy use. “Doug’s wanted to do it forever,” he said. “Normally, when you’re bringing water from higher up, you just open a valve. This one is different in that we didn’t want to waste that (potential) energy.” Evans said the system essentially uses gravity as a battery, taking the energy from water flowing downhill and converting it to electricity. He added that a similar system is planned for Park City Municipal’s new 3Kings water treatment plant. The electricity flows back into Rocky Mountain Power’s grid, offsetting most of the site’s energy use. Evans said Obama-era rule changes regarding hydroelectric power made it much easier for the plan to be approved. Still, safety mechanisms are paramount, as the system has to be able to turn off in milliseconds if there’s a problem with the grid. Plans call for solar panels to be installed on top of the storage tanks in the future to completely offset the station’s energy use, and there’s room in the facility for future expansion. Evans said that conduits for future solar arrays were installed when the station was built. Sheriff’S report Summit County Sheriff’s deputies busted a multi-state criminal operation that’s estimated to be responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bank fraud, according to Lt. Andrew Wright. “We feel that making this arrest and executing this search warrant is a break in a very, very large multi-state case,” he said. “We anticipate more information coming as we continue to investigate with feder- al partners.” Acting on a tip from a local credit union, deputies responded to the Kimball Junction business and detained a womPlease see Sheriff’s, A-4 After 27 years you thought we only do braces, but Invisalign has played a major role in creating beautiful smiles! Now offering a $500 discount on full treatment with Invisalign through the month of December. 435.649.0099 parkcitysmile.com ©2019 Engel & Völkers. All rights reserved. Each brokerage independently owned and operated. Engel & Völkers and its independent License Partners are Equal Opportunity Employers and fully support the principals of the Fair Housing Act. If your property is currently represented by a real estate broker, this is not an attempt to solicit your listing. |