Metering

A letter to the Shareholders

Dated 3/21/2023

Utah State Legislation

H.B. 242 Secondary Water Metering Amendments

House Bill 242 requires that a meter be installed and maintained on every secondary water connection of a secondary water supplier.

The Board of Water Resources approved $190,000,000 in grants which will partially fund the installation of 114,000 meters statewide.

In its August 4, 2022 meeting, the Board of Water Resources committed grant funds to South Despain Ditch Company to purchase and install 300 secondary meters. This grant will provide 70% of our project cost, up to $345,800, as an ARPA grant.

The deadline to use the grant funds is December of 2024. Therefore, we are urging each shareholder to sign up as soon as possible to facilitate the process. (see Link below)

Please reference the chart on this page to see the estimated installation cost per shareholder per year.

Meter & installation cost breakdown estimate by year per shareholder, SDDC, and ARPA grant.

Meter & Installation

*Installation amount is paid once. We recommend installing your meter sooner rather than later!

FAQ’s

  • Yes!

    House Bill 242 requires that a meter is installed and maintained on every secondary water connection of a secondary water supplier.

    The bill also requires that the use of secondary water is accurately metered by a meter.

  • Full compliance with the new law is required by 2030, but the grant money must be used before December 2025. We recommend installing a meter sooner (in 2022) rather than later to receive the best price and take advantage of the grant money.

    Meters are currently being installed in sections. You should be notified by Turf or SDDC but we are still working out our system. Please be patient.

    Please refer to the graph on this page for a cost breakdown.

  • The current cost of a one-inch meter and installation is estimated to be about $1,000 (a larger meter will cost more).

    The grant will pay for 70% of the cost for meters installed in 2022 & 2023. SDDC will pay 20% in 2022. and 10% in 2023,

    The cost is expected to rise over time due to increases in the cost of materials and labor.

    Please refer to the graph on this page for a breakdown of reimbursements.

    You will receive a bill for your portion from SDDC after installation is completed.

  • Shareholders who have already paid for meter installations will receive a refund once we receive the grant money from the Utah State Board of Water Resources.

  • South Despain Ditch Company has purchased a number of meters for immediate installation and will purchase the additional meters once we actually receive the grant money.

    You will be billed by directly by SDDC for your portion.

  • SDDC has contracted with Turf Sprinkler & Plumbing to install all of the meters on our system. Bryce John, our watermaster, will coordinate the effort with Turf.

    Shareholders cannot buy or install their own meters.