Recently there was supposed to have been a hearing for a bill, introduced by Sen. Dan McCay, that would have prohibited water districts from subsidizing water rates with property taxes. The idea is that if the full cost of water use shows up on your bill, you’ll eliminate frivolous and wasteful practices.
That could send a lot of water to places that need it, like the Great Salt Lake. States that have adopted this approach have indeed seen much lower water usage.
Unfortunately, by the time the hearing happened, the bill had been turned into a study. No reason was given, but some commenters hinted that water districts were concerned that project financing would be more expensive without property taxes guaranteeing repayment.
But here’s the thing. Last year we spent hundreds of millions of dollars on infrastructure to reduce water usage. I’ll bet slightly higher finance costs are nowhere near that amount. It’s money out of my (and your) pocket either way, and I prefer the one that saves the most water for the fewest dollars.
Sen. McCay, I applaud you for your work on this, and I hope you’ll see fit to re-introduce your original bill.
Steve Glaser, Holladay