Anything that might encourage any household, business, public agency or church to use more water than it absolutely needs is a bad idea in a climate such as Utah’s.

That’s why, when members of the Board of Trustees of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District open their public hearing Monday, they should hear a lot of opposition to a proposal to increase the district’s property tax levy by 11%.

This is not to argue that the district doesn’t need the money. Keeping up with water infrastructure demands in most of the rapidly growing communities of Salt Lake County (other than the Metro Water District of Salt Lake City and Sandy) is not cheap.

It is just that using property taxes to support a public water supply, especially in a drought-prone area such as ours, hides much of t

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