FAQ
Clearfield City’s 2023 Water Rates Frequently Asked Questions
Clearfield City is keeping water rates consistent with the conservation rates adopted by city council in 2022. Conservation rates are necessary due to the increasing cost of maintaining our distribution system (including repairing/replacing water lines before failures occur), the rising cost of water due to its limited availability as a finite resource, and Utah’s continued conservation efforts to fill water storages, reservoirs, and lakes. Rates are currently in effect. For questions about your bill, please call our customer service center at 801-525-2700.
What are the water rates for residents?
Resident water rates are defined by a tiered system based on usage. Residents that use between 0-10,000 gallons of water per billing cycle will not see a rate increase more than the normal annual $.02 increase. The rates will be most impactful to residents that use 40,001 to 80,000+ gallons of water per billing cycle.
What are the water rates for multi-unit properties?
Multi-unit properties that use more than the 7,000 gallons per unit included in their base fee will be charged based on the additional usage. Â
What are the water rates for commercial properties?
Commercial properties have a rate based on water usage per thousand gallons.Â
When will the rates go into effect?
Rates are currently in effect. For questions about your bill, please call our customer service center at 801-525-2700.
How will these rates impact me?
Resident water rates are defined by a tiered system based on usage. Residents that use between 0-10,000 gallons of water will not see a rate increase more than the normal annual $.02 increase to the base fee. The rates will be most impactful to residents that use 80,000+ gallons of water per billing cycle.
How do these rates help conservation?
Conservation rates help preserve the community’s water resources by encouraging behaviors that reduce water waste. The State of Utah has launched initiatives to fill water storages, reserviors, and lakes. Click here to learn more.
Does the city have a watering schedule?
Clearfield City is not dictating watering schedules currently. We recommend residents follow Weber Basin Water Conservancy District’s watering recommendations. More information on Weber Basin’s watering recommendations can be found here.
How often should I water?
Weber Basin Water Conservancy District has watering recommendations on their website, which can be viewed here.
What can I do if my neighbors are overwatering?
Clearfield City is not enforcing water restrictions currently. Residents that wish to overwater can do so, but they will pay the increased cost of that usage. The more water they use, the more it will cost them.
How can I conserve water?
What is the city doing to conserve water?
The Parks & Recreation Department has developed a comprehensive plan to preserve the sports fields while conserving water. Watering is occurring to preserve the sports fields and community spaces. Conservation efforts include watering at a 20% reduced rate, changing grass heights to preserve the turf, turning off water to park strips, utilizing wetting agents and slow-release fertilizer, and more. The Parks Department installed new water monitoring systems in 2021 and reduced its water usage by over 30%.
Three questions: Who authorized these water rate increases? What public process was followed to implement these water rate increases? What increase in cost to Clearfield City resulted in these water rate increases? … Thank you.
Hello Kerry,
Thanks for your comment! The city council authorized these rate increases with input from staff, Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, and an external financial advisor. The public process for implementing these water rate increases included holding multiple public work sessions on the topic, posting notice of all work sessions on the Utah Public Notice website, our website, at the post offices, city hall, and the Clearfield library. The meeting where council adopted the rate increases was also open to the public. The city is required to post 24 hour notice of all public council meetings, and we typically provide two weeks notice. Our agendas for council meetings can be found here: https://clearfield.city/government/#agendas_minutes
Weber Basin Water had to source water from other districts to meet our district’s needs, and, they are increasing the cost of water delivery and reducing the water supplied to the cities they serve. The new drought rates are a reflection of these costs. So, rather than asking people to conserve, residents will pay the true cost of water consumption. The more the city and residents use, the more they will pay, and the rates are now more expensive in the higher tiers of consumption. Those who conserve and use water responsibly should be minimally impacted. Hopefully the increased price of water will help change habits while covering the increased cost of water usage.
Regards,
The Communications Team
Is there a specific grass seed mix clearfield recommends that doesn’t need much water ? I heard slc did this.
We don’t have a specific one, no. We recommend you visit https://weberbasin.gov/ for their recommendations.
I read all of the information related to the water issue imposed on residents of Clearfield. We were told back in April there is a water shortage. Worse than last year. My rates as a 25 year home owner in Clearfield went up the most. i have a few issues I would like addressed please. 1. How can this be worse than last year? Pineview is slightly less full than this time last year, but Causey and Echo are 100% full, which means all runoff still coming off the mountain is passing directly to Pineview meaning is will fill very soon. If the bucket is full, how is there a shortage? 2. If the real problem is downstream usage or increased usage, it seems this would be because of the incredible increase in apartment building. So we increase apartments, and homeowners have an increase in water bills. The apartment building water bill barely jumped at all and on the lowest water scale with a flat rate regardless of water usage. 3. If these increases are being put on Weber Basin, what is the real cost of the increase? Flip the Strip maybe? There is no such thing as a free program. I flipped my strip years ago, because it made sense to me and my water bill. It seems that I am now paying for everyone else to do the same thing. If there is plenty of water in the reservoirs above us, it seems the other reason the costs are going up, is so Weber can offer a “free” program. I haven’s seen actual evidence or water crisis to justify this increase. When I have asked people, all I get is other Cities are saying it too. Is the City just trusting the word of Weber Basin, is anyone actually asking questions to verify this information? Last year we were in a worse position related to water and no increases happened then. The Mayor did a video last year stating we still had two years of water. This year we ended up with more than we had last year, so why the crisis. Maybe Weber is just not letting a good crisis go to waste. One last point. Talking about people who have nice yards as someone keeping up with the Jones is a bad analogy. Having a nice yard is not keeping up with the Jones’s, its a product of 25 years of hard work, to make our little piece of Clearfield look nice for us, those around us and the City we live in. Our rates went up the most. Not apartments, not business, but long time dedicated residents who work hard to make our City look good. When do you anticipate the rates dropping to normal, or is this a way to creep it up and leave it up, hoping no one will notice?
Hi Michael,
Thank you for reaching out to us to share your concerns. Hopefully we can shed light on some of your questions. Many people ask the same question as you: are we really in a drought? The answer is yes. Weber Basin Water has some great facts and information on the water crisis at this link: http://www.weberbasin.com/drought
We are in a housing crisis and a water crisis. How do you solve both at once? Build housing that uses less water. Apartment complexes use 1/3 less water then single family houses. One of the greatest opportunities for conservation comes from landscaping. Single family homes have the most landscaping and are in the best position to help conserve water.
Weber Basin Conservancy District is the main water supplier for Northern Utah. They have provided research done by themselves and external parties to determine drought concerns. For more information on their research, visit http://www.weberbasin.com
I have all but stopped watering my lawns, however I still need to water my vegetable garden because it feeds dozens of people in my community and some of those are veterans that cant grow their own fresh produce. I have reduced my water usage, according to my statement, by 40% vs last year same month, but my bill more than doubled and almost tripled. How is this fair to us or our communities that we have made a conscious effort to reduce usage however still MUST water our vegetables amd it costs that much more. This needs to be considered.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for sharing your concern with us. We understand that rate increases can be difficult. Unfortunately, rate increases are necessary to meet the rising cost of water due to its limited availability. Thanks for doing your part to conserve. Another option to help save on your water bill would be to explore collecting rain water to water your garden with. Hopefully this tip helps!
I posted a few questions on this page and it appears they were deleted instead of being answered. Why are questions being deleted?
Hey Michael!
Sorry, we have now posted your comment. Thanks for catching that it wasn’t published.
Are there any restrictions on rain barrels?
Hi Stephen,
Great question! There are not city restrictions on rain barrels. However, there are some state regulations. Here’s a link that talks about the state regulations: https://waterrights.utah.gov/forms/rainwater.asp#:~:text=A%20person%20may%20collect%20and,no%20more%20than%202%2C500%20gallons.
Is Clearfield city offering any monetary help to zeroscape across the sidewalk?
Hi Denise!
Clearfield City is a partner with Weber Basin Water Conservancy on their Flip Your Strip program. This program offers rebates for residents that remove grass from their park strip. Here’s a link for more information on the rebate program: https://www.weberbasin.com/Conservation/Rebates
Hello, now that the snowpack report has shown we are at an all time high, I would like to know if you plan on the same water rates as last year? Will it be reevaluated this year? I understand other cities stated they you reevaluate every year according to conditions.
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks for asking! We will be doing another water rate study soon. The results of the study will be brought to council when it is complete and they will decide what to do about rates.
Best,
Clearfield City Communications Team