Overview
- The City Council, which approved the measure Tuesday, set a 200,000-gallon daily cap on potable water use for any new nonresidential development for 180 days.
- The ordinance now covers all nonresidential uses, blocks expansions that would push existing sites over the cap, and narrows government exemptions to facilities that primarily provide social services.
- The public utilities director gained authority to deny service when projected demand would strain parts of the city’s water system.
- ICE bought an 833,000-square-foot warehouse on the west side for a planned detention site, drawing protests and a warning letter from Mayor Erin Mendenhall about water, sewer, and public-safety strain.
- The vote followed a Stage 2 water response that asks the city to cut about 10 million gallons per day after record-warm weather and a sub-60% snowpack runoff outlook.