If you have a garden in Provo, you could be eligible for more than a hundred dollars off your water bill. Tuesday night, Provo City Council is hearing a proposal from the Public Works Department to be able to offer this to people, after the city recently voted to raise their water rates.
The proposal, called the ‘Urban Farming Policy,’ looks at offering people with qualifying gardens a $120 credit off their water bill at the end of the year.
“We haven’t found anyone in Utah that offers something like this,” said Barry Prettyman, an engineer with the Provo Public Works Department.
This past legislative session, state lawmakers tasked cities with considering ‘urban farming’ when deciding their water rates. “So, if you’re farming your crops, like a tomato, or carrots, or flowers, whatever it may be if you have a specific purpose for it, we could consider that urban farming,” Prettyman said.
He said since the city voted to raise their water rates—effective this September—they wanted to find a way to allow people to keep their gardens without being burdened by the extra cost. To do that, they’re proposing an annual $120 credit to people with qualifying gardens—or, “urban farmers.”
“If you have, in our case, either 25 percent of your parcel area is a garden, or at least 5,000 square feet, the lesser of those two,” Prettyman said.
There are restrictions as to which gardens qualify—including that you would have to be on a residential account, and garden for four continuous months during irrigation season.
“Citizens will apply and then we’ll have to check that the area is the correct area, and then throughout the year we’re going to check to see if they’re actually gardening so there will be some on-site requirements that we have to go look at,” he said.
According to the department, requirements to qualify would include:
Garden must be actively used growing marketable plants such as fruits, vegetables, and herbsProperty must have a garden meeting either 25% of the total parcel area or 5,000 square feetGarden must be used at least 4 continuous months during irrigation seasonUser must reach tier 3 during irrigation seasonMeet Provo City backflow standardsHigh efficiency irrigation means (drip, high efficiency nozzles)
Scott Engh, who runs Sun River Gardens in Orem, thinks this policy is a good idea:
“I would say also that your average garden uses less water than your average turf or grass area,” he said.
If City Council approves this proposal Tuesday, the policy would go into effect in September, and the first credits would be dispersed at the end of 2026.
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