Stockholders are welcome to nominate themselves or someone else to a position on the board. Nominations must be submitted to WaterPro no later than February 24, 2012. Please see a list of the requirments to submitt for nominations HERE.  After February 24, all shareholders will receive ballots for our Board of Directors election to be held in conjunction with our Annual Meeting . If you are planning to attend the meeting on March 28, please bring the ballot to the meeting with you. If you are not planning to attend, please mail or deliver your marked and signed ballot to WaterPro’s offices before March 28. You can also fax or email your ballot.  Fax 801-571-8054 or email Diana at hope@waterpro.net

You are asked to write on the ballot the number of shares you own. If you are not sure of the number, you can leave that portion of the ballot blank and we will fill it in for you. Remember to mark and sign the ballot before returning it.

If you have any questions, please contact our office at 801-571-2232.

Why should you attend? Here are just a few reasons:

• Help shape the future of your water company by voting for the two open seats on our Board of Directors.
• Find out what’s been going on for the past year, and what’s coming up in 2012.  We’ll talk about past, present, and future projects, and answer your questions.
• Help us achieve a quorum. Our bylaws require that we receive votes from a certain percentage of our stockholders in elections, so your vote counts!
• Participate in a long tradition. We’ve been holding these meetings since 1888, so you have a chance to be a part of Draper’s history!

Here are some suggestions:

Sign up for a free Water Check. These are available for residential, commercial, and institutional properties at absolutely no cost throughout Salt Lake County. Visit the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District website (jvwcd.org) and click Conservation Programs to learn how to have your irrigation system and landscape tested, and receive your free customized watering schedule.

Replace existing older shower heads with low-flow heads. The cost is relatively low, but the savings can be great.

Sign up for free landscaping classes to learn about water-saving ideas for a beautiful landscape. Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District offers free classes from early spring to late fall; visit their website (jvwcd.org) for details.

Learn more about indoor water-saving tips. Visit slowtheflow.org for ideas on how to cut water usage inside your home.

Statewide, the picture looks good, according to Brian McInerney, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City. Reservoirs are nearly full and soil saturation is high, so he foresees a good water supply for the coming year.

For WaterPro/Draper Irrigation, the picture is slightly different. Most of our mountain water supply comes from the mountains directly east of Draper, where snowfall so far is scarce. The company has no large reservoirs, so if mountain water runs short, we will need to buy water from other entities such as the Metropolitan Water District and Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. This will mean that the company must pay higher costs to supply water to our customers.  In addition, if mountain water is scarce, the company will have to rely more heavily on lower-quality water from Utah Lake later in the irrigation season.

However, due to increasing costs (such as electricity, fuel, materials, and equipment), we find that we need to increase the rates on our secondary (irrigation) system by 5% in order to cover the costs of delivering this water to you. This change will go into effect on January 1, 2012.

 If you are unsure how this will affect you, please call the office for information.

A Vital Part of Your Community

We know that it’s easy to take water service for granted. Our job is to provide clean, safe water on demand day in and day out so that you don’t have to think about where your next drink of water is coming from.

At the same time, we want to be an important part of the community. We want to help make Draper a terrific place to live, work, and visit.

Here are just a few of the ways we’ve contributed to the community in 2011:

• Draper Days Platinum Sponsor. For the past several years, we’ve sponsored Draper Days, the town’s biggest celebration, at the highest level of sponsorship. This year we passed out free reusable water bottles and cold water to attendees and held a prize drawing.
• Draper Days Heritage Banquet. This year the Draper Historical society featured the company at their annual banquet.
• Draper Days movie sponsorship. We sponsored a showing of the movie “Mastermind” and provided free hot dogs, popcorn, water, and other goodies.
• A History of Draper Irrigation Company/WaterPro: Celebrating 100 Years of Culinary Water Service. We published a history of the company from 1888 to the present, and donated copies to the

Utah State Historical Society, Draper Historical Society, LDS church library, state and national elected officials, and others. This book, which is available for free downloading from our website, has already proved to be a valuable historical record and has helped us clarify some long-held water rights.

• Business of the Year nominee, Draper City Chamber of Commerce. WaterPro is a longtime Chamber of Commerce member, and this year was one of several local businesses nominated for its Business of the Year award.
• Water Week school field trips. For the second consecutive year, we joined with the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District and Draper City to provide field trips and educational materials for all Draper fourth graders as part of Utah Water Week in May.
• Draper Trail Days. We provided water and volunteer support for Draper Trail Days and other local events.

We would like to thank the Draper Community Foundation, Draper Chamber of Commerce, Draper Historical Society, Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, and Draper City for their help and cooperation in all these efforts. We would also like to let other community organizations know that we are available to provide water and support to their events.

Most of all, we would like to thank the people of Draper for their continuing support. We are proud to have been an important part of Draper’s history, and we look forward to our next century of providing fresh mountain water to our community.

• Distance for Destiny 5k race and 1 mile kids’ run, Saturday, November 5. Proceeds benefit an orphanage in Nicaragua. The 5k begins at 8:30 a.m., the 1 mile at 10:30, both at Juan Diego Catholic High School. Register at www.active.com, or call 801-556-3861 for details.
• Thanksgiving “Crazy Course” Fun Run, Saturday, November 12. Register at draper.ut.us/recreation, or call 801-576-6570 for details.
• Thanksgiving Day Human Race 5k/10k, Thursday, November 24. This race benefits the Utah Food Bank and begins at 8 a.m. at the Draper Spectrum, 150 East 12120 South. Register at www.utahhumanrace.org, or call Phillip Gould at 801-523-9009 for details.

Once the hose is removed, stick a finger inside and press up on the poppit inside; any trapped water should be released. Some units will require that you pull down on the inner workings to release the water.

The best way to protect your backflow assembly from our harsh Utah winter temperatures is to remove the unit and store it in a warm place.

Make sure to cover the open ends of the line that are sticking out of the ground with something to prevent dirt, debris, and insects etc. from entering the system.

HOW TO DRAIN A PRESSURE VACUUM BREAKER (PVB)

1. Shut off the culinary water supply at the stop and waste.
2. Open all ball valves.
3. Open both test cocks to allow any water in the check valves to drain. Opening the check valves will also introduce air into the line, allowing water to drain out of the stop and waste.
4. Leave the ball valves open for the winter to allow for expansion.
5. Once the unit is completely drained, turn the test cocks back to the closed position.

HOW TO DRAIN A REDUCED PRESSURE ZONE ASSEMBLY  (RP)

1. Shut off culinary water supply at the stop and waste.
2. Open all ball valves.
3. Open all 4 test cocks to allow any water in the check valves to escape. Opening the check valves will also introduce air into the line, causing any water in the line to drain back and out of the stop and waste.
4. Leave the ball valves open for the winter to allow for expansion.
5. Once the unit is completely drained, turn the test cocks back to the closed position.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Turning the test cocks back to the closed position will prevent insects and debris from turning your backflow assembly into a nesting ground.

Never force compressed air through an RP or PVB.