Friday, June 12, 2009

Sun Valley water users face rate hike

Rates could rise to encourage conservation


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

Sun Valley water users could possibly face a punitive rate hike next year if they don't curb consumption for irrigation over the next several months.

In a letter sent out with Sun Valley Water and Sewer District bills earlier this week, district General Manager Pat McMahon said he is looking into methods for reducing water consumption.

"As part of these efforts, the water rate schedule will be adjusted to encourage conservation," McMahon wrote. "Beginning next summer, a graduated rate schedule will be implemented."

In an interview on Wednesday, McMahon said that a new rate schedule has yet to be determined, but it is clear that residents need to cut down on use for watering lawns.

"We're right on the edge of using all of our water rights," McMahon said. "During high-usage periods in August, we're near full capacity for our system."

In the course of creating a Water Master Plan to detail present and future water use in Sun Valley, the district commissioned the Colorado-based engineering firm CH2M Hill to research usage. In a study submitted in May, it was determined that irrigation customers in the city use 10 times the national average.

"Customers in Sun Valley use a staggering amount of water," McMahon wrote in his letter. "Peak season irrigation demands exceed supply, compromising reserves necessary for fire protection."

McMahon said the district's priorities for water use are potable water and fire protection, followed by irrigation.

Currently, irrigation water users are charged 90 cents per 1,000 gallons and are on a schedule that allows watering on even or odd days, depending on location.

Overall, McMahon said that users average a combined total of 8 million gallons per day in the summer season, which is approximately five months long, compared to 1.5 million in the winter. He said the highest-volume customers are using around 2 million gallons per season.

In addition to a punitive rate scale, the district also began discussing a possible change to the city's design-review regulations that would limit irrigation on new single-family home developments to half an acre per lot. As part of the plan, irrigation would be limited to 300,000 gallons per season, a figure determined through research by Clemens Associates, a Wood River Valley-based land planning and consulting firm.

The idea to change the development regulations was brought up Thursday at a Sun Valley Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Although no decisions were made, the commissioners expressed a desire to implement ways to reduce water consumption.

"The 300,000 gallons per half acre over a season is a reasonable baseline," Clemens Associates' Rob King told the commission.

This is the figure that could be used as the trigger point for higher water rates, making it expensive for users who go over the limit.

King said reductions for existing users can be relatively easy and inexpensive, such as installing rain sensors so that automatic sprinklers do not operate during wet spring periods. King also said the current even-odd day irrigation schedule could be shortened, especially in the wetter months of May and June, when it would be possible to get by with 10 days of watering per month rather than 15.

"A healthier landscape that uses less water is better for everyone and conservation is the easiest way," McMahon said.

Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.