Replacement Water
Many residents within the counties served by Weber Basin Water Conservancy District do not have access to a municipal or community water system and must depend on alternative sources, such as a well, for their domestic water. To further compound the issue, no new appropriations of water are given by the State Engineer’s Office within District boundaries. Replacement water offers a solution to those residents seeking to develop a well. Through the replacement water program, District storage rights are released into the river to “replace” the groundwater utilized by a well. Residents seeking replacement water must first sign a contract with the District followed by obtaining an approved exchange application from the State Engineer before they are permitted to drill a well. The process is outlined below.
New District IV Water Rates and Impact Fees - Effective date of May 3rd
The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District continues to work towards its mission to conserve and develop water resources to provide for the needs of its customer agencies, use the water resources of the Weber drainage responsibly for the greatest benefit to the public, supply high-quality drinking water, and protect the watersheds of our source rivers and groundwater supplies. Meeting the needs of its customer agencies requires the development of “blocks” of water that are subsequently made available for customer agency use per water efficiency and other contract standards. The District has recently exhausted its most recently developed block of water (“District III") and is now in the process of developing its next block (“District IV”). Due to the substantial costs associated with the development of District IV water the District has made the decision to require the assessment of an impact fee for all District IV water sales. Utah Code (11-36a-401) requires that “an impact fee enactment may not take effect until 90 days after the day on which the impact fee enactment is approved”. The District’s impact fee was enacted on February 2, 2023 at an advertised Board meeting with associated public hearing. The District will continue to accept applications for District IV water during the 90-day waiting period, but will NOT be able to act upon said applications until after the 90-day waiting period (May 25, 2023). This District IV block of water will also require the adoption of certain water efficiency standards within customer agency ordinances and/or limitations on the placement and utilization of turf for retail customers designed to meet regional conservation goals.
Before submitting your completed replacement water contract, we advise you to contact the Division of Water Rights (801-538-7240) to verify that no moratorium on water diversions has been placed on your area. For example, there is presently a moratorium on parts of the Snyderville Basin/Park City area of Summit County that prohibits new sales and new well permits. If you are interested in contracting for replacement water to use on your property in Summit County, Morgan County or the upper valley of Weber County, click on the link below.