By unanimously adopting the County Water Brokerage, the council supported the first major proposal by Water Manager Bob Fotheringham. This water management tool is unique to all government entities in the state of Utah, he said.

The brokerage will help the county develop water resources as well as benefit the citizens of Cache County by allocating, preserving and managing the scarce resource in the face of rapid population growth and development, the ordinance states. It will give people who own water rights options beyond letting priority rights, dating back to 1860, lapse into nonuse and potential forfeiture in judicial courts, Fotheringham said.

Some residents voiced concern Oct. 28 at a public hearing that the county would be taking water rights away from them. Cache County Councilman H. Craig Petersen requested then and again Tuesday that the ordinance language indicate otherwise. Cache County Attorney N. George Daines said in a memo, added to the record, "reaffirming that there is no intent to take water," is sufficient.

The county's role in the water banking business, Fotheringham said, is to assist county residents with the transfer of water right interests - to each other, to the county, to municipalities and to water conservancy districts.

"There is no way the county can take anyone's water rights," he said. "It will be extra work for the county, but if you have someone willing to broker and someone that needs [water], they can come and purchase it."

abrunson@sltrib.com

In other council business Tuesday night:

The Cache County Council approved a four-day workweek for most government departments. From 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, county offices including the assessor, auditor, building inspector, county attorney's office, victim's advocate office, clerk, fire, information technology, planning and zoning, recorder, surveyor, treasurer and USU extension will be open to the public. These offices will be closed each Friday, Saturday and Sunday.