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Oakley lifts ban on growth with new well coming online

A front loader passes behind Oakley City Hall in May 2023 during the renovation of the Oakley Diner. The building moratorium had banned new water connections, but construction on buildings like the diner, which has an existing water connection, was permitted.
Connor Thomas
/
KPCW
A front loader passes behind Oakley City Hall in May 2023 during the renovation of the Oakley Diner. The building moratorium had banned new water connections, but construction on buildings like the diner, which has an existing water connection, was permitted.

Oakley City has lifted its moratorium on new development and is now allowing new water hookups.

The city made national headlines two summers ago when it refused to approve any new buildings that required a water hookup.

The Oakley City Council rescinded the move Nov. 8, since a new well is quadrupling its water supply.

“We just dated [the new well water], and it came back at close to 5,000 years old," Evans said.

Oakley planning commissioner Doug Evans, who’s been closely involved with the well construction process, says Oakley leadership is confident it will come online around June 2024.

“After we perform close to 100 water tests, they're all good. In fact, it's one of the best sources—it's better than our other sources in the city,” he said. “So now all we have to do is tie it into the water system, which is pretty straightforward. So a lot of the risk is gone.”

Evans also said the scientists were able to date the age of the water, confirming it hasn’t been on the Earth’s surface for 5,000 years.

Once a pump is installed and the well is at max capacity, it could produce 3 million gallons of water every day, which is more than six Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Right now, the well is producing 1,400 gallons per minute. With a pump installed, that could jump to 2,500 gallons a minute. In the photo above, the water is being flushed as part of required testing, which ensures the water is clean before it's delivered to homes and businesses. The flow will be switched off while pipes are installed.
Oakley City
Right now, the well is producing 1,400 gallons per minute. With a pump installed, that could jump to 2,500 gallons a minute. In the photo above, the water is being flushed as part of required testing, which ensures the water is clean before it's delivered to homes and businesses. The flow will be switched off while pipes are installed.

A deluge of water doesn’t automatically mean a deluge of development though.

According to Mayor Zane Woolstenhulme, Oakley has just two standalone buildings waiting for a water hookup right now.

There’s also the future 15-home River Haven Subdivision going in between Millrace Road and state Route 32, but Evans said they’ll spend most of 2024 building road and utilities improvements.

“They won't have a building permit until the infrastructure is in,” he explained.

River Haven doesn’t require a rezone, so as long as it complies with code, the owner has the right to build it already.

The new water will also enable the remodeling of Oakley’s city center, a years-long process underway at the planning commission level. The architects and planners hired by local businessman Steve Smith meet with the Oakley City Planning Commission again Nov. 9.

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