During a special session of the Cedar Fort Town Council on October 5, 2021 the Council voted to put in place a moratorium on new water system connections and applications within the town boundaries. This action comes on the heels of Eagle Mountain announcing that Google has purchased land in Eagle Mountain for a Data Center. Data centers require large quantities of water, something that the Town of Cedar Fort is having problems with.
An Eagle Mountain resident reached out to Mayor Tom Westmoreland about the data center water usage. In an email reply to the resident, Aaron Sandborn (Economic Development Directory for Eagle Mountain) mentioned that “Facebook currently has purchased around 300 acre feet of water.” And that Google has “reserved 1,000 acre feet of water to be able to use for future development, but the actual usage will be determined by what technology is most effective and efficient for them to use at the location.” He continued, “One unique feature of the water from data centers is that is still very clean once it is considered unusable by the data center. Both Facebook and Google will actually be returning a very sizable amount of their water to the City for us to use to offset water used elsewhere. We are working on a reuse study to determine exactly where that can be used, but one example is that the watering of Cory B. Wride Memorial Park will be done from this water. This is one way that both companies are working to reduce our overall water usage. Both companies have recently made pledges to be more efficient with water usage and to help support water conservation efforts wherever they locate a data center. In addition to what they are doing here in Eagle Mountain, Facebook has also partnered with the Central Utah Water Conservancy District to help to improve the water flows on the Provo River.” Eagle Mountain is gearing up for more water usage while their neighbor, the Town of Cedar Fort, is struggling with water standard compliance and has issue a moratorium on new water connections.
Cedar Fort has two water issues they are facing at the present time.
The first issues is that the Town uses a road to access their well head that runs from the Cedar Fort Rodeo grounds to where the well head is located. The problem is that the road runs through property that is not currently owned by the Town of Cedar Fort is is currently blocked, there is currently an easement. The landowner has an alternative route that the city is trying to get the deed and easements to use. They are currently working on trying to get deed or easement to the land to continue accessing the well head.
The second issue, is the reason for the moratorium. David Gustin (Cedar Fort Town Mayor) explains during the meeting. “Town is not in compliance with the clean drinking water standards, because we don’t have sufficient water reserves that are required per connection.” Because of this non-compliance they voted for a moratorium on any new water connections or applications for connection on the cities water system.
A few other items discussed about the moratorium. Residents currently on well water will have to remain on wells. If their well fails for any reason they will have to fix the issue or drill a new well. They will not be given the ability to connect to the town water system unless the moratorium is lifted. There is currently one application in process that the applicants lawyer stated the moratorium would not stop the application. With the majority of city issues, the codes and laws in that take effect are the codes that are active when the application was submitted.
The Town Council wanted to make sure that it was clear that this is not a way for them to stop or curtail town growth, but was needed to help the town come into compliance as well as to not exacerbate the current violation.
The moratorium was passed and from the discussion is not expected to last for more than a year. The moratorium will be lifted as soon as the city has fixed the reserve issue and they are in compliance.
Supporting Documents
More details can be found at the Utah Public Notice Website, including an audio recording of the special town meeting.
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.