Ballard Water Rates Climb

When Ballard city residents open their water bill in February, they will see just how much of an effect a recent rate increase will have on their wallet.

There will be a raise in both the property tax mill levy for the Water District as well as a fee increase for water usage.

The need to raise the cost of water to consumers had been evident for some time as the Water District's budget has been operating in the red for the past few years, according to Ballard Mayor Thomas Nordstrom.

The depreciation of the system's assets, as well as increased costs for everything from purchasing of water from the Ute Tribe as well as higher costs to replace, repair, maintain and expand the system, have caused a strain on the budget, said Mark Reidhead, president of the Ballard Water and Sewer Improvement District.

The city is growing, and so grows the need for water. According to the Ballard City and Ballad Water Improvement District newsletter going out to consumers with the December bill, approximately 50 building permits have been given out this year alone. This includes two new three story hotels to help with the shortage of rooms for both the traveling public as well as oilfield workers. “We are getting more and more of a demand all the time,” he said.

While he expects to hear from some consumers, Reidhead said he believes some people understand the need for the increase. “If we want to keep water flowing, the people I've talked to are saying 'if we need the water, we have to pay for it,'” he said.

The increase goes into effect January. Uintah Basin Standard

Uintah County to fund expansion of dinosaur museum

Uintah County will fund the expansion of a popular state park in Vernal. The county, through its Impact Mitigation Special Service District, will spend $1.5 million to build a new repository and lab facility for the Utah Field House of Natural History Museum State Park. Deseret News

Feds help pay for Utah’s flood damage

Utah will receive federal aid to pay for this spring’s flood damage. President Barack Obama signed a Utah disaster declaration and ordered federal funds to supplement the recovery effort from flooding between April 18 and July 16.

The funds are available to state, tribal and eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations, on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the flooding in the counties of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Daggett, Duchesne, Emery, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Salt Lake, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch and Weber, and the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. The state could be eligible for $9.5 million in federal aid. Salt Lake Tribune

Water purification plant expanding

Vernal’s drinking water comes from Ashley Springs, fed by a series of underground seeps that drain the south face of the Uinta Mountains. It’s been a steady and reliable source of water since the founding of the Ashley Valley in the late 1870s. The good water quality experienced today will be enhanced through the plant’s new clarification system, which is under construction and will take two years to complete.

Construction at the plant is being handled by Flatiron Construction, a Denver-based company, with Del Carter as on-site project manager. Construction is funded in part through the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, with Flatiron’s portion estimated to cost $12 million. Vernal Express