Note to readers • This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has received approval from Utah’s Division of Water Rights to drill 20 wells to dewater the site of the future Heber Valley Temple, a key step to prepare for construction.

The drilling follows a Utah Supreme Court ruling that lets construction proceed, even as a lawsuit over the legality of the plans continues.

Residents near the temple site on Center Street, east of downtown Heber, cited dewatering and other environmental concerns in their lawsuit.

A groundwater study from 2023, when Wasatch County was reviewing the temple plans, estimated the church would need to pump up to 1 million gallons of water every day to prepare the site.

Hugh Hurlow is the groundwater and wetlands program manager at the Utah Geological Survey. He said although the number of gallons seems large, the dewatering project is relatively small in scale.

Read more at kpcw.org.