Utah and Water
OK, here’s the scoop on water in Utah.
Never having lived anywhere but Ohio, this situation with water in Utah really floored me. In Ohio, when you drilled a well on your property, it was yours to use any amount for any reason.
In Utah that is not the case. When you drill a well in Utah, the cost of doing so is all your responsibility. Wells are deep out here. Ours is 242 feet and is considered shallow. (Ohio’s was 60 feet) You have the cost of the casing, drilling, pump and piping. Cost of all averages 80.00 a foot. Assuming you just paid over 19,000.00 to drill a well, you still don’t have water. Humm. In steps the state. Now you have to pay the state for a share of water.
A share of water is 1 acre foot. You can also purchase any portion thereof. An acre foot of water is the amount of water it takes to cover 1 acre of land with 1 foot of water. To further complicate things, water is designated for types of usage. Irrigation, household, livestock, etc. Now all these areas come out of the same well.
The cost of and acre foot of water varies greatly.  A year ago it was about 500.00 per AF. That is if there is any available in your area. In year we have been here, it has gone up to 750.00 and higher.
If you don’t use all the water, in the opinion of the State, they can take some away from you. Also if you are using more water, again in the opinion of the State, than you have on record, you are issued a warning, and if it continues, a violation. Only having been here a year, we still don’t have a good handle on this situation. Still learning.
More later.
Cindy
