Enoch council to weigh reduced water-right rule for low-turf homes
A proposed conservation tier would let new single-family connections bring 0.37 acre-feet of water rights instead of the standard 0.50 in exchange for a rate with higher charges on heavy use.
New homes in Enoch with little turf could bring less water right to the city under a proposed "rate-enforced conservation tier." The City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday, Nov. 4, on the ordinance (2026-11-04-A), according to the meeting's agenda packet. A staff memo lists Velocity Homes as the petitioner. [1]
Under the draft, a single-family applicant could elect a water-right duty of 0.37 acre-feet instead of the standard 0.50 acre-feet of municipal and industrial water or 0.88 acre-feet of agricultural water. In exchange, the property would be billed on a conservation rate with higher charges for use above 12,000 gallons a month, and a conservation agreement would be recorded against it. The tier is meant for homes with no more than 1,000 square feet of turf and modest, drip-irrigated landscaping. [1]
Commercial and industrial applicants could designate expected monthly use in 2,000-gallon units, each carrying a water-right duty of 0.123 acre-feet. New rate tables set a $30.30 base rate. For single-family homes it includes 12,000 gallons, then $3, $6 and $10 per 1,000 gallons as use rises; the commercial and multi-residential tables charge $2, $3 and $10 per 1,000 gallons. The draft would also excuse multi-residential and conservation-tier developments from connecting to the secondary irrigation system if irrigated turf is 3% or less of the development area, and adds dual-meter language of 0.3 acre-foot culinary and 0.7 acre-foot secondary for single-family properties. [1]
The city's Water Board reviewed the changes and recommended edits, including adding language that the city will hold the water right and removing the line about no more than 1,000 square feet of turf. Staff recommend that approval be subject to revisions: limit the tier to lots of 11,000 square feet or smaller, require senior water rights with a priority date earlier than 1934, give owners written instructions and require a plat acknowledgment for conservation-tier lots, and require secondary irrigation water for all open space within the connection distance. [1]
Also on the agenda are an ordinance to allow accessory dwelling units as permitted uses in the R-1-11 zone, a public hearing on amending use categories in fee schedule 6.A, a proposed social media policy, and setting Nov. 18 hearings on a $100 fee to locate private sewer lateral lines and on meter location and concrete apron requirements. [1]
Sources
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