WATER MORATORIUM TO END SOON IN MORGAN COUNTY
standard.net
Depending on public reaction to a recently completed water study, a water moratorium in Morgan County could end in as few as 30 days. The study revealed sources of nitrates in drinking water and could affect the administration of water rights in Morgan County.
In 2004, the state Division of Water Rights, the Utah Geological Survey and the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District teamed up to begin a groundwater study of Morgan County. Since 2008 and in conjunction with the study, officials enacted a moratorium on all water leasing in the area. That moratorium will be lifted after a 30-day public comment period.
Because the groups anticipated the study would be completed in 2010, Morgan residents were left waiting a year for the results. The county council chambers were packed to standing room only at a recent public meeting discussing the water study.
The study could affect how future water rights are administered in a county that has experienced much residential growth since 2007 and is expected to experience more once the housing market improves.
