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Show lCouncil votes to join Weber Water District by Christopher Smart The Park City Council unanimously unanimous-ly voted Dec. 13 to join the Weber. Basin Water Conservancy District, ending years of feuding with the district over water from the Spiro mine tunnel. The move comes as the Weber District is constructing a new dam east of Oakley on Smith-Morehouse Creek. The new reservoir will hold about 10 times more water than the existing one on the site. The 7,900-acre-foot reservoir could be the answer to Park City's water needs in the forseeable future, according to city Officials. Annexation Annexa-tion into the Weber District will cost Park City property taxpayers one mill on their 1986 tax bills. Mining tunnels south of Park City have long been a source of municipal water. In 1982, the city attempted to increase its supply by filing for the right to use water from the Spiro Tunnel which empties out west of the Park City Municipal Golf Course. Much of that water belonged to Salt lake City, under the terms of a 1974 court decision. The court had determined that, had the tunnel not been constructed, the water would naturally have flowed into Big Cottonwood Canyon and eventually into the Salt Lake Valley. However, the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District filed suit against Park City's application, claiming that Salt Lake City's right to the water was lost by non-use. Further, the district claimed that Park City's use of the water impaired its vested interest. (Water from the Park City-Snyderville area flows eventually into the Weber River. ) In the 1974 court decision, United Park City Mines was awarded the right to the remaining water from the Spiro tunnel. Currently that water is being used by Park City in an agreement between the municipality and Deer Valley and a second one between Deer Valley and United Park. The Wotw District has also claimed the right to that water. But as Park City joins the Weber District, those claims will become moot. The annexation of Park City into the Weber District insures that Spiro Tunnel water will remain on this side of the Wasatch Mountains, according to City Attorney Tom Clyde. City Manager Arlene Loble credits the settlement to City Councilman Bob Wells and Greater Park City Company official Wayne Matthews. Loble maintains that it was Wells who suggested talking directly with Weber District officials, bypassing attorneys representing the district and the city. With the assurance that Spiro Tunnel water will remain in the Weber River drainage, Park City has enough water to serve growth within the city until the end of the century, according to city officials. However, Smith-Morehouse water could be less expensive than water from existing sonrrw Thp reservoir water will cost about $150 to $200 an acre foot. By contrast, . Clyde said water coming from the Judge and Spiro Tunnels costs about $400 an acre foot. Annual tunnel maintenance and pumping costs are among the expenses that make Park City's water costly, he explained. How Smith-Morehouse water would be brought to Park City remains to be determined. It may be possible to obtain the water from the surrounding region in a system of exchanges, Clyde said. Another alternative may be to pump the water via pipeline across Brown's Pass. That alternative, however, could also be quite expensive. Remaining as a formality before the annexation can be completed is a petition signed by 100 Park City property owners favoring the annexation. annex-ation. The final step is for the district court in Ogden to rule in favor of the annexation. |
