Amid concerns that the booming Utah County community's sewers had reached capacity, the City Council voted unanimously this week to expand the current system and rush construction of a new treatment facility, which has been in the planning stages for more than two years.

Officials hope temporary tweaks will provide enough capacity to accommodate as much as two years' worth of growth in the vast southern portion of Eagle Mountain until the new system comes online.

"This is great," Mayor Don Richardson said Wednesday. "We're moving in the right direction."

Council members were more guarded in their optimism.

"We might cut it a little close," Councilman David Blackburn said. "But that's the fun and challenge of a growing city."

His council colleague, Vincent Liddiard, was criticized for "crying wolf" when he said residents might have to take turns flushing their toilets. But Liddiard fears the issue is still not completely settled.

"I'm afraid [construction of the new plant] is going to take too long, which is why I made the comment I did. I didn't try and cause fear and worry. I simply wanted to be sure we addressed a very important topic in a timely fashion," Liddiard said. "This is an issue, and it will remain an issue. Any delays will have dire consequences for continued building."

Eagle Mountain can hand out about 620 more building permits until the new plant is up, according to council members. But construction on that new system has not yet begun, and that troubles Councilman David Lifferth.

"When I was mayor two years ago, the plant was supposed to be online by July 2007. So we really haven't made progress in two years," he said. "Everyone has their attention focused on this now - and I guess it's better late than never. . . . We can't delay this anymore."

The council also passed a $16.5 million bond Tuesday.

City spokeswoman Linda Peterson said up to $2 million of that could double the size of the new sewer treatment facility. Former plans had it handling 600,000 gallons per day, but officials are considering increasing it to 1.2 million gallons as the city approaches 20,000 people.

The main funding for the new $8.6 million facility will come from a $6 million loan from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

About half the bond will fund two new wells and upgrades to two existing wells. A break at a well last month has forced residents to ration their water, but it is expected to be fixed early next week.

sgehrke@sltrib.com