Jacob Jorgensen was surprised when he reached the fire lines section of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilites water rates, as part of a study that led to fee changes earlier this year.

While the costs of water have risen over time, especially as Utah grows and the long-standing “megadrought” has fueled water scarcity concerns, Salt Lake City’s rate for water supplied to fire lines at multifamily, commercial and industrial buildings has remained at a rate of $1 per inch since 1961.

Jorgensen, the department’s senior financial analyst, still isn’t sure how this happened, but he flagged it as something that should change moving forward.

“It is a substantial cost on our system because in order to provide fire suppression, we have to upsize pipes, add additional pump stations or

See Full Page