S.L. County to give Millcreek a water-flow boost

MILLCREEK — In solving the problem of water flow in this area of unincorporated county, the Salt Lake County Council has achieved "one of the top five accomplishments of this council," according to chairman Steve Harmsen.

The problem of inadequate water flow to combat fires in the area roughly from 700 East to 2700 East and 3000 South to 3900 South has been the subject of months and even years of study. The county has now come up with a plan to create a special improvement district to enlarge water mains — putting in 86,700 lineal feet of pipe — and installing fire hydrants every 500 feet.

In addition to increasing hydrant pressure from 300 gallons of water per minute to 1,500 gallons, "overall you'll see greater water pressure," Salt Lake City deputy director of public utilities Jeff Niermeyer said.

This week the council put the final piece in place by deciding how residents are going to pay for their share ($10.8 million) of the $15.4 million cost of the project. Fifty percent of each resident's share will be based on a straight per-lot allocation (something less than $1,000), with the other 50 percent based on the assessed value of the property.

Council members worried that a straight per-lot allocation would be unfair to the owner of a vacant lot, who would be paying the same as a Home Depot. Using a totally value-based allocation, however, would result in large property owners paying up to $62,000, "and that just wouldn't sell," county public works director David Stanley said.

Council members said they hope a combination of the two would result in a generally fair allocation.

In the 50-50 system, the county estimates that the biggest property owner will pay about $35,600, with the smallest paying $670. The median payment will be $1,688.

There are 5,595 properties in the area, specifically, those included in the East Millcreek, White Ditch and Lower Millcreek water systems. The payments will be spread out over 10 years, the life of bonds sold for the purpose.

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