Maeser Water currently has three wells that include two shallow wells in Dry Fork and a larger well in the Painted Hills subdivision that flows about 300 gallons a minute. They use about 700 to 800 acre feet of water each year which, computes to be the equivalent of about 1,000 gallons a minute of water flow. Therefore the district is looking for two additional wells to go along with the flows from Painted Hills.
“We do have a large surface water right, but the state told us that we have to put our underground water rights to beneficial use,” explained McCormick. He stated that some of their water filings are over 50 years old and the state hinted that they needed to act on these filings or possibly lose them.
The district received a $200,000 grant to pay for the exploratory well drilling and were invited back to apply for additional funds if the water quality and quantity and state water rights can be worked out. The cost of installing a production well for the district would be about $1.2 million for each well.
“We don’t want anyone to panic. If we don’t hit water or if the two exploratory wells don’t work out, we have enough surface water,” stated McCormick. “But, it would be good to develop this water for future generations.”
The Maeser Water and Sewer District include areas in the northwest of the Valley from 1500 West through to the Painted Hills subdivision area, and from Main Street to the north including areas in Dry Fork to areas around the Remember the Main Park. |
