The Salt Lake Valley’s swelling population means more stress on the region’s water sources, which could lead to higher property taxes for many Utahns this year.
The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy — which provides water to most Salt Lake County communities, except Salt Lake City and Sandy — is proposing a roughly 11% property tax increase this year.
The average home within the district’s service area is valued at about $630,000, according to the water district, meaning the hike would cost the average homeowner about $11.78 more this year. For businesses valued at the same price, the hike would add about $21.42 more to the annual tax bills.
The tax hike would help the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District meet the growing demand that comes with the county’s growing population, agency CEO Alan Packard said. Over the next five years, the district has planned $210 million in projects to establish new wells and expand treatment plants in Salt Lake Valley suburbs.
One of the valley’s three treatment plants hasn’t had a capacity upgrade since 1986, Packard said, when the water district’s service area was much smaller. Now, the agency serves about ⅔ of Salt Lake County residents, Packard said — amounting to over 810,000 of the county’s population of over 1.2 million people.
“We recognize that no one likes to see their property taxes go up, and we’re trying to be restrained and only raise the taxes to the extent we really need it,” Packard said. “But it’s important to be able to provide reliable water supplies for future generations for us to do this.”
The district’s board of trustees will consider the proposed tax hike after a public hearing scheduled for Aug. 11 at 6 p.m.