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Show City answers questions on culinary water issues . Nothing seems to be of more controversy con-troversy or importance to the residents of Ashley Valley than the culinary water system which provides water to homes and businesses. Due to its importance, impor-tance, many people have argued different dif-ferent points of view regarding the operation and management of the water system to the extent that most find it confusing. Because of this, Vernal City has released information to clarify several questions relating to the water system. The city invites the public to visit the city office and talk about these questions ques-tions in an effort to dispell misunderstandings and inaccurate information in-formation which the city feels is harming harm-ing the water system and costing the public a great deal. The following are four questions most commonly asked the city from Ashley Valley residents. The answers to the questions are not the opinion of one person, per-son, but that of the city. QUESTION: Do residents outside Vernal City pay double the city ANSWER: In 1961, Vernal City residents voted for a bond to upgrade the water system and to extend it out of Vernal City into the county to serve the residents there, who at that time did not have adequate water service. Because the bond funds were to be used to build the water system outside the city, Jhe connections outside the city were committed, com-mitted, in 1961, to pay $72 a year per connection to pay the bond payments. Security for the bond was the assessed value to Vernal City. If bond payments defaulted, Vernal City properties would be taxed three mills to cover bond payments. In this way, a better bond interest in-terest rate was obtained. You do not pay double for water outside out-side Vernal City, but you do pay more then city residents. There are two basic reasons : First, you are paying for your share of the 1961 bond that was passed to provide water service to you. This bond was not passed to provide water service to Vernal City residents and therefore, they do not have to pay for it. Second, there are fewer connections per mile of waterline outside Vernal City Ci-ty to pay operation costs. Also, the difference dif-ference between 45l,000 in-city and 601,000 in the county is 44. If you paid double, it would be 90l,000. Therefore, you could say your water rates are 44 higher in the county than in the city, but not double. The present water rates, per month, break down as follows: In-City County 1961 Bond Payments -0- $2.35 1979 Bond Payments $ .70 .70 Water Delivery Rates 3.30 4.96 Total minimum bill for 10,000 gals. $4.00 $8.00 Cost per 1,000 gals of water over 10,000 4571,000 60'1,000 QUESTION: Does the water system have enough water? Is Vernal City using county residents water? ANSWER: Vernal City has held 1,015.2 acre feet (330,853,680 gallons) of water in trust for use in the county since 1961. During 1979, Vernal City delivered 1,605.8 acre feet (537,995,720 gallons) of water to county residents. The total volume of water delivered was 5,707.3 acre feet, or 1,860,009,070 gallons. No, Vernal City is not using county water, but in fact is providing much more water to county residents than has been held in trust. The total water system, however, is using more than it has a right to, and new resources must be provided very soon. This is one reason that water stock is required to obtain a water connection on property that has been irrigated. QUESTION: Is the Red Fleet Reservoir Reser-voir needed? Why was it built, and should I be concerned about the cost of the wuter becuuse of it? ANSWER: Several years ago, many residents of Ashley Valley realized that this valley would need a great deal of water to serve a growing population. At present, the water system does not have enough water to serve our present needs. By 1981, it is estimated that we will need over 2,000 acre feet of water over what we now have, and each year thereafter, we will need more to provide pro-vide for industry, manufacturing, farming far-ming and culinary drinking water. Realizing this, a vote was taken in 1976 by the residents of the Uintah Water Conservancy District concerning the Red Fleet Reservoir. The vote was 1283 for and 159 against; an 88 percent margin. Because Vernal City was the deliverer of culinary water to all of Ashley Valley, it was necessary to petition peti-tion for a certain percentage of the Red Fleet Reservoir to guarantee that the reservoir water would be put to beneficial ase at some future date. The i city petitioned for 12,000 acre feet of this reservoir water to provide for future populations in this valley. Still, there are legitimate questions to be asked now, and the City Council has pursued this aggressivley to find out what the water will cost and why the Red Fleet Dam has cost so much more than anticipated. The City Council has met with the Uintah Water Conservancy Conservan-cy District, the Bureau of Reclamation, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, and representatives of the State and Federal governments, and has supported lobbying in the United States Congress to decrease the cost of this project to our water users. There has been success in this and the city will continue to work toward a realistic solution that is as fair as possible to all of us, not just a certain few. The total construction cost of the dam is $28.5 million. The aqueduct from the Red Fleet Dam is now planned to cost $12 million. Of this, $8 to $10 million has been presented to the Congress for reimbursement and has received approval ap-proval in the House and Senate Appropriation Ap-propriation Committees. If the worst were to happen and we were to pay for the total cost of Red Fleet without this reimbursement, it would cost the average connection about $12.00 per month in 1984. If the Congress approves the reimburseable costs and decreases our share of construction overages, this could be deminished to about $9.00 per connection. This is based upon reasonable growth and the number of connections between now and the time that we use the water. Please remember that until the city obtains a final answer from Congress, that these costs can be changed. The city knows you have been told that water bills will be much higher than this and therefore, invites you to review this information yourself. If more information becomes available, this will be provided in the interest of the water system. Many, many hours have been spent in studying the facts and negotiating on this project to protect pro-tect the water system from unreasonable costs and it would be a shame to waste that effort because of misinformation and misunderstanding. The water system needs more water than we now have. We must protect our water resources. The presented facts are documentable and are open for your review. QUESTION: lias Vernal City taken legal union against the Ashley Valley Water and Sewer District? ANSWER: Yes. Vernal City has taken legal action to stop continued confusion con-fusion of water users and to protect Ihe operations and future of the water system. This recently filed lawsuit against the Ashley Valley Water and Sewer District (AVWSD) and its Board members was done due to efforts by the city to manage and finance needed water developments, which have been continually stopped, stalled or " threatened by the AVWSD Board and its members, resulting in millions of dollars of expense. In 1972, the city applied for an EPA grant for the Valley Sewer System because it was the only entity which provided sewer service. A total of $212,731.24 has been paid by Vernal City to bring the Valley Sewer Project to the present point. This is the total local share. The Ashley Valley Water Sewer Treatment Plant, stating that the sewer would not go ahead until the city turned over the water system in the county to them. In 1976, the sewer plan estimated the total sewer cost at $3.6 million. Finally, in 1979, AVWSD agreed to allow Vernal and Maeser to use the property, under certain unstable conditions, condi-tions, and the construction grant of $6,825,000 was authorized by EPA on October 4, 1979. The cost now, however, is $9.1 million. Who benefited? In 1979, Vernal applied for a $350,000 grant to replace broken and worn out waterlines in Ashley, Naples and Davis. The AVWSD opposed the city's right to do so and the grant was turned down. Who benefited? In 1979, the city applied for 1.3 million in funds to build a new water transmis-sionline, transmis-sionline, reservoir and repair worn out facilities. Again, the AVWSD opposed and the funding agencies withdrew their support. Who benefited? Now, in August, 1980, the AVWSD sends out a notice to all water users in the Ashley Valley area that they should pay their water bills to the AVWSD, who is not legally authorized to sell meters, read meters, do any billing or maintain any legitimate waterlines on the Vernal City water system. Who will benefit? All of this has happened and most people don't know how much it has cost them. The city has not retaliated in this manner before, but something must be done. Asking that residents pay their water bills to an entity that has not the capacity to deliver service is wrong, it misleads the public and will hurt them individually. The City of Vernal wants to know how you feel. You have a right to say how you feel this situation can he solved. You do have a say in the waler system, no matter what you have been told. If you have any questions to ask the city or further comments, send them to 495 East Main, Vernal Utah 840711. Questions Ques-tions may be used for another newspaper article if requested. |