Tooele Co. town issues boil order, plans emergency meeting to discuss replacing water system

STOCKTON, Utah — Residents in the town of Stockton have been told to boil their water until further notice due to possible contamination from the Jacob City Fire burn scar.

Mayor Nando Meli said the town had been using its emergency well for water since the fire burned areas upstream from its water treatment plant intake.

However, the generator for the well has failed, and the town will have to use the treatment plant on a conditional basis.

“Because the treatment plant is not approved to treat water with high turbidity (sediment) we are required to issue a boil order until further testing can prove the water is safe to drink,” town officials said.

Between these issues, Meli said the town will need to take out a $3 million loan to replace its water system. Meli also issued a ban on all outdoor watering until the town’s water system returns to full capacity.

Stockton officials will hold a meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. to discuss the town’s water situation. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held at the Stockton Town Hall but has been moved to the town’s Ball Park Pavilion “due to the anticipation of (a) large number of attendees.”

If the town takes out the loan, residents would pay an extra $66 on their water bill each month. Meli said he has been working since the start of the year — before the Jacob City Fire broke out — to get state or federal funding to make the repairs.

Stockton’s water treatment plant was built in 1985, and Meli said the foundation and roof — “essentially the whole plant” — need to be rebuilt. He said the type of plant that was installed has had issues since it was built due to the high level of sediment in the area.

Currently, the town’s plant is running at under half-capacity due to the damage.

The Jacob City Fire burned approximately 4,000 acres in Tooele County’s Solider Canyon in July. A man was arrested in connection with the fire after he allegedly left a hot saw on an RV generator next to a gas can.

Fire managers, city officials and state hydrologists held a meeting late last month about what was being done to minimize the flood risk to residents in the area.

Recent rain bringing new flooding fears to residents in Stockton