The Park City Council will review proposed increases to water rates during its Thursday meeting.
The council adopted a comprehensive set of water rate changes in 2025, which altered how water bills are calculated for single-family residential and irrigation accounts. Now, the council is considering whether to increase those fees.
According to a staff report, operating costs for the city’s water system have increased significantly since 2020, largely due to equipment upgrades needed to meet drinking and stream water regulations.
City Manager Adam Lenhard told KPCW he is recommending the council press pause on the proposed increases.
“We do see a long-term need to at least keep up with inflation,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” June 3. “However, given the adjustments that we just made less than a year ago, we've spent a lot of time looking at these rates and saying, are further adjustments needed?”
Lenhard said he wants to see more long-term data after the 2025 changes, especially because Park City has some of the highest water rates in the state.
“What we have now is not quite one year's worth of data under these new rates. We do see that our revenues have decreased,” he said.
Also Thursday, the council will consider approving a special event contract so Deer Valley can host the U.S. Open of Mountain Biking. Deputy City Manager Heather Sneddon said it’s a level four permit, which means between 500 and 5,000 people could attend the event each day.
“The expected attendance over those four days is about 9000 people, but we're waiting to see how those RSVPs come in as we sort of decide whether or not we need to implement our transportation mitigation plan,” she said.
Sneddon said the city is excited for the event as it helps put the area on the map as a mountain bike destination.
