If the council said no to any rate increases on water, it could declare a moratorium on new development and stop allowing new water connections, as demand has met the current water treatment plant’s capacity, General Manager of Utilities Services Dan Grassick said.

Councilors could try implementing significant water conservation measures to reduce demand and try to buy time, he said.

The council could invest in the existing water treatment facility to try and increase its production capacity, which would only buy a couple of years, Grassick said.

“The ‘do nothing’ option is not available,” Grassick said. “If and when the plant has an operational issue and is off line for a day or more, this would effectively require the water system to be shut down.”

Restarting the system would take several days to a week as tanks are refilled and the lines are disinfected and tested, he added.

A moratorium on growth would trigger the community to implement a plan within 24 months to resolve the utility issue, “a much more costly alternative because there will be state-agency oversight involved to get the same end result,” Grassick said.

“The bottom line is the existing water rate structure provides just enough revenue to operate the system at the current demand level,” Grassick said. “The council knows the plant needs to be replaced and additional storage tanks need to be constructed as quickly as possible.”