Garden City Engineer Report

Anita Weston, Reporter

Rich Civic Times

GARDEN CITY, Utah.  December 12, 2013. Zan Murray, Garden City’s Engineer, reported that the Water Change of Use Form for the fishing pond has been submitted and should be completed soon.  He noted that Planning and Zoning will be given the opportunity to once again work with Norm Mecham on the Water’s Edge project.  According to the Appeals Committee, P&Z does have the authority and responsibility of negotiating building heights according to the city’s ordinances.

It appears that Garden City will get $100,000 for parking from the State.  Money for the gun range will not be forthcoming.  Apparently, Garden City is too small.  Also more information needs to be gathered dealing with the gun range location about the habitat of the mule deer and sage chickens.  Sovereign lands will receive $150,000 for Bear Lake, and they are looking to use $100,000 for developing more parking in Garden City, which, in turn, will give greater lake access.

Murray then gave a very impressive presentation concerning the City’s Master Water Plan.  It was professionally done and very comprehensive.   He had a power point presentation as well as colored handouts that the Board Members could keep and consult in the future as decisions concerning the water system are made. 

The current water impact fees are six years old.  As the plan is developed, more accurate and appropriate fees will be determined.  The Master Plan covers the level of service, the latent capacity, the capital improvement projects (long term) and other capital projects.

According to the current City Zoning areas, Hillside Estates Zoning area is everything above the canals and is a very large area.  However, there are many areas in that zone that are unbuildable because of the steepness of the mountains.  Thus, the actual number of homes that can be built in this area is smaller than was originally expected.

The existing water system has two sources of culinary water—Swan Creek Spring producing approximately 2430 gallons per minute and Payne Springs at about 60 gallons per minute.   The City currently owns two storage facilities, the tank at the water treatment plant and the Pickleville tank.  Other possible storage tanks are located at Shundahi, Elks Ridge, and Harbor Village.  Most of the distribution of water is put through 20” down to 4” pipes.  There are currently booster pumps at Harbor Village, Buttercup, Elks Ridge, and Shundahi.    Shundahi actually has a two booster system.  The City does own part of the Elks Ridge tank (100,000 gallons) and the Harbor Village tank (100,000 gallons).

The Fire Flow map showed locations where there are deficiencies in pressure if a fire were to occur.  These deficiencies are mainly the result of small line sizes, and low pressure areas.  There is concern at the top of Eagle Feather and Cherimoya.  Booster pumps could result in enough pressure to take care of these problem areas.

The City has a standards book.   Water distribution supplies need to be included in this book so that developers are aware of what will be needed as development occurs.  Also agreements need to be written between the city and developers so that water system will grow in the direction that will be beneficial to both parties.

The City needs to be aware of usable storage that takes care of day-to-day needs, fire requirements, and emergency situations.  Distribution needs concerning pipe size, pipe replacement, pressure issues, and booster pump locations must be addressed.

A map showing pressure contours where there can be drops in water pressure were shown.  Pipe sizes will vary depending on the pressure zones that have been identified.  The highest pressure requirements need 24” pipes and 8” pipes are needed for looping systems and fire flows.

The future will require the City to obtain a new well location as close to the existing line as possible.  A new well will allow the system to become redundant and not be entirely dependent on Swan Creek Spring.   Impact fees to pay for the well need to be calculated.  The target date for a new well would be about 2020, but planning needs to begin now.

Another storage tank needs to be built in the Buttercup area.  The City also needs to build additional storage.  The water treatment plant needs to be upgraded, and the City will need to continue to drill new wells.

It was recommended that the City begin in 2014 to get the Shundahi tank in use, put a booster pump in a t Cherimoya, and begin using the tanks on Elks Ridge and Harbor Village.  A new well will be needed by2020, and the small pipes in the system need to be replaced.

A new impact fee will be presented to the City at the next meeting so that there will be time for the Board members to consider the new figures.  After consideration, the new fee will then probably be passed at the February meeting.