SunCrest water inadequate?

DRAPER — Preliminary figures on water capacity in the SunCrest development on Traverse Ridge have left a nearby developer crying foul.

The early numbers show that the residential development that straddles the Utah County/Salt Lake County line may have to double its storage facilities and pumping capacity by the time it is built out. They also suggest that new home growth would have to be predicated on increased water capacity.

The figures are part of a study commissioned by the city as part of its water master-plan update, said city manager Lane Long. The study has not been completed and won't be formally accepted by the city for a few months, but correspondence between the engineering group doing the study and the city is public information.

Officials say they are not concerned about the numbers, but Draper resident and investor David Mast, along with a few other developers, is upset.

Mast is concerned that perceived water shortages could be dangerous, he said. He sent a letter to the Draper City Council and mayor Dec. 18, calling the water system deficient.

"The city better hope that there is not a fire this summer," he wrote, implying that the system would not support firefighting efforts.

But Bill Bigelow, an engineer for Hansen, Allen. & Luce Inc., which performed the study, said there is no need to create a sense of panic. The city would be able to supply water to fight a fire, he said.

Draper City Council member Bill Colbert agreed.

"I would never approve a system that had that problem," he said.

Mast has filed a civil suit against both SunCrest and the city regarding the water-shortage issue, among other things. He and his partners are unable to build on their property because any homes they might build have no way to get water, he said.

He expected water capacity to be available for them to hook up to and believes they have a contractual right to it, based on development agreements signed with the city.

Draper city engineers and City Attorney Doug Ahlstrom have said that whether Mast is entitled to culinary water under his development agreement is a matter for the courts to decide.