Utah’s escalating water crisis, exacerbated by prolonged drought, has intensified the debate over how residents fund water infrastructure. The Utah Rivers Council, a conservation watchdog, has been vocal in its opposition to the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District’s recent 11% property tax increase, arguing that such funding mechanisms encourage water waste and obscure the true cost of water for consumers.
The council contends that relying on property taxes to fund water infrastructure allows tax-exempt entities, such as universities and churches, to avoid paying their fair share. This, they argue, leads to an artificially low monthly water bill for residents, as the cost is partially hidden within annual tax payments. The group advocates for all water overhead to be reflected in end users’ per-gallon usage rates, asserting that higher prices would incentivize conservation.
“Basic market economics suggests,” said Alta Fairbourne, a water advocate for Utah Rivers Council, “that if the price of something goes up, the use of it goes down.”
Utility experts, however, acknowledge the role of property taxes in covering public costs and keeping water affordable for households. Robert Sowby, an assistant professor at Brigham Young University with experience in engineering water systems, noted that property taxes shouldn’t be the only way to fund water infrastructure. Utah’s funding mix varies from city to city and includes metered rates, property taxes, and state or federal grants.
The Utah Taxpayers Association also supports rolling more of the cost into utility bills, but cautions that unwinding the existing system would require an incremental approach. “So we’ve got to do it incrementally to get there,” said Billy Hesterman, the association’s president.
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, which delivers water to most communities in Salt Lake County, defends its use of tax revenues for conservation initiatives, future growth projects, watershed protection, and fire suppression. “We believe the costs of these public services,” a district spokesperson said, “should be spread throughout the community.”
The debate over water funding comes as Utah faces severe shortages in both the Colorado River and Great Salt Lake basins. In response, Utah lawmakers have committed significant funds to install new meters on secondary water connections statewide. They have also tasked the Department of Natural Resources to evaluate the collection of property taxes to fund water districts.
A third-party study commissioned by the department found that tax revenues provide a stable revenue stream and keep water affordable, including for low-income households and nonprofits. However, the report also recommended adopting more aggressive tiered rate structures to discourage overuse. This year, the Legislature required water suppliers to start billing for outdoor secondary water use at a tiered rate by 2030.
Janice Beecher, a professor of water research and policy at Michigan State University, noted that inflation for water rates has long outpaced overall economic inflation. She attributed this to the need for renovation or replacement of aging infrastructure and the scarcity of federal dollars for generational water projects.
Despite these challenges, Beecher highlighted the efficiency gains in water usage, which have kept water utilities from becoming a significant portion of the average household budget. Utah Rivers Council’s calculations for tax revenue over time do not account for new growth in Jordan Valley’s service area, the district spokesperson noted.
The debate over water funding in Utah is likely to shape the development of the sector, as stakeholders grapple with the need for conservation, affordability, and sustainable infrastructure. The outcome will have significant implications for how water is managed and paid for in the face of worsening drought and resource scarcity.