The next morning she noticed something peculiar. Her freshly filled pool was missing a third of the water; over 1000 gallons!

She checked the pool for leaks, but the ground surrounding the pool was completely dry. Then she noticed another oddity; the level of the water was at the same height as the end of the hose draped into the pool. Strange! Wanting an explanation , Diana turned to the experts. Who would know more about water than her water company?

She made a call to WaterPro and asked for Brannen, who had helped her out with a leak in her mainline the previous month. As Brannen inspected the scene with Diane, he saw that a backflow incident had taken place at the Relation Street address. It didn’t make a sound as it stealthily siphoned water from the pool through 75-100 feet of hose, slipped past the tap and deposited the 1000 gallons of water beneath the slab of concrete that encased the yard hydrant.

Thanks to a frost-free feature on the yard hydrant (not an approved means of backflow protection), that was as far as the water made it. Had the water traveled back to the meter, the next morning when Diana filled her water bottle for her run she would have gotten a big dose of chlorine.

Fortunately most backflow incidents are confined to the property where they occur, but if contaminated water flows back through the meter; the entire surrounding area is affected. There are countless toxins that come in contact with our drinking water every day through cross-connections.

People frequently ask, “How often does backflow really happen?” The case of the disappearing water proves that it happens more often than we will ever know. Many incidents are never detected or reported because they are so isolated.

Instead, we should ask, “How can I protect my drinking water from backflow and the hazards it comes in contact with?” The answer can be as simple as a hose bibb vacuum breaker on every culinary hose bibb of your property, or it can be as complicated as a Reduced Pressure Zone Assembly and a swing connection on your dual sprinkler system.

If you need help determining what type of protection you need for your system, please call our office and someone will assist you.

The event, which is sponsored by WaterPro, Draper City, and JVWCD, is free to students. In addition to the water treatment plant tours, students will also see WaterPro’s well and hydroelectric facility, and will participate in hands-on activities to learn about the water cycle, watershed protection, stormwater and runoff, and local water history.

The tours will take place during the week of April 30. Before that time, each school will receive presentations to prepare students for the tours.

1. Turn off your stop and waste valve to avoid flooding your yard and home.
2.  Disconnect hoses.
3. Check for and repair cracks in standpipes.

It takes approximately 10 to 14 days to fill the system. Secondary water should be available to all customers by April 15, but some customers may have water earlier.

Most homeowners can prepare their own systems. If you need assistance, please contact a landscaper for help. WaterPro does not have the resources to provide routine maintenance to homeowners.

In general, everything past the meter (for the culinary system) or stop and waste (for the irrigation system) is the responsibility of the homeowner. We will always respond to emergencies, but if we determine that the problem lies with a part of the system that is not our responsibility, we will need to bill the homeowner.

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.