Summit County residents will have an opportunity next month to comment on a proposed $20 million bond to fund an expansion of the Mountain Regional Water Special Service District’s treatment plant. The district obtained a $34 million loan last year to complete the project, which will increase the Signal Hill Water Treatment Plant’s capacity from 2.6 million to 5.6 million gallons per day. However, General Manager Andy Garland said the district is nearing the end of its design phase and now has a better idea of the expansion’s cost. “We didn’t think we’d be back this soon asking for more money, but as we’ve gotten through 90% of the design for our Signal Hill Water Treatment Plant, the costs are coming in significantly higher than they were estimated,” Garland told the Summit County Council on Wednesday. District Engineer Sam Greenlie said growth in Promontory and Silver Creek Village spurred the need for a larger facility, but the expansion also creates redundancy in case one of the district’s other systems fails. But funding construction is difficult for the small district because of its limited revenue stream. “We’ve got a very large service area and a relatively small customer base,” Greenlie said. “It’s difficult for us to maintain and ultimately pay for these large infrastructure projects we’re trying to accomplish.” Greenlie said the design of the water treatment plant hasn’t changed since the district last met with the County Council. He said an addition to the main building and a secondary structure to store chemicals are still the focus of the project. “We’ve progressed the design, and a lot of things that were viewed as contingency items or unknowns have been priced and planned for, and our cost estimates have increased dramatically, much more than we were expecting,” Greenlie said. The district initially expected to spend $42.3 million to build the facility, but Chief Financial Officer Steve Anderson said updated estimates place the cost around $58.8 million. The $20 million bond would help the district fund the project, although Anderson said district officials are hopeful they’ll only need to draw $15 million instead of the full amount. “We are adding significantly to our debt, but this is … doubling the treatment,” Anderson said. “That will get us through a lot of growth and get us well into the future. It’s well worth the investment just for the reliability and to be able to serve our customers.” Anderson said water rates will likely increase because of the bond. Specifically, he said customers should expect a 7% to 9% increase in 2027, a 3% to 5% increase between 2028 and 2033 and a 4% to 6% increase between 2034 and 2040. Anderson also showed the County Council a breakdown of how customers will see the increases reflected in their monthly bills, with a residential customer expected to pay $155 in 2026, $168 in 2027, $175 in 2028, $181 in 2029, $196 in 2031 and $204 in 2032. “We have some very large users who really bring that average up and use a lot of water, but for our more conservation-minded, more economic-conscious customers, their bills will not jump as significantly,” he said. The proposed bond is a water revenue bond, which means voters will not have a direct say in whether the bond moves forward because it will not appear on the Election Day ballot. However, the County Council is holding a public hearing on Sept. 16 to gather input from residents and determine whether to proceed with the bond’s authorization. The post Mountain Regional Water proposes $20 million bond to cover treatment plant expansion appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less