HB 274 revises Utah law governing water rates, conservation pricing, and secondary water metering. The bill authorizes municipalities and special districts to use water conservation as one factor in setting different water rates, and it creates a presumption that certain conservation-based rates are reasonable. It also requires more transparency for municipal water systems serving customers outside city boundaries, including website posting of rates and advisory board representation for outside-boundary customers. For retail water suppliers, the bill directs rate structures to use increasing block rates, consider conservation efforts, and by July 1, 2027, include a conservation element in the highest residential usage block. It also adds a requirement to consider urban farming in rate setting.
Impact
The bill amends provisions in Title 10, Title 17B, and Title 73, affecting municipalities, special districts, retail water suppliers, public water systems, and secondary water suppliers. It expands the legal basis for conservation-oriented water pricing, clarifies that conservation costs may be included in special district water rates, and limits how for-profit systems may use conservation-rate revenue. It also updates the Board of Water Resources membership structure to include a Great Salt Lake representative and continues the state’s push toward full secondary water metering, with deadlines, reporting requirements, loan and grant support, enforcement tools, and tiered conservation billing requirements for secondary water contracts and customers.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad overall support, passing the House and Senate with strong majorities, though not unanimously. Committee votes were favorable, and the bill advanced through both chambers with amendments. The voting history suggests general agreement on the need for conservation-oriented water policy and metering reforms, while the non-unanimous floor votes indicate some reservations about the scope or pace of the changes.
Contention
The main points of contention likely involve rate-setting authority, mandatory metering, and enforcement. Municipalities and water suppliers may be concerned about state-imposed constraints on how rates are structured, especially the presumption that conservation-based rates are reasonable and the requirement to include conservation elements in pricing. Secondary water suppliers may object to the 2030 full-metering deadline, annual rate caps tied to metering costs, and the enforcement regime that includes fines and loss of state water funding. Another likely issue is the bill’s treatment of customers outside municipal boundaries and the requirement that some advisory board seats represent those customers.