Greg Hoffman, who purchased his home in the area in 2005 after being stationed overseas with the U.S. Air Force, was clued into a seemingly innocuous line item on his tax assessment — labeled “WEBER BASIN WTR CHRG” — by a concerned neighbor. This charge came in addition to his regular water fees and, upon reviewing past tax statements, Hoffman realized it had been levied every year since he moved in.

“Over time, it went from 50 bucks to, last year, it was $188,” Hoffman told the Standard-Examiner.

The charge, it turns out, was related to secondary water that he and other residents of his and other nearby developments can’t currently access.

“Because it never said secondary, it never drew my attention, and I look at my tax assessment every year,” Hoffman said. “It never drew my attention that it was different.”

Now, Hoffman and others who live in the area contend that Weber Basin Water Conservancy District is imposing charges for a service that isn’t being rendered. However, Darren Hess — Weber Basin Water’s assistant general manager and chief operating officer — told the Standard-Examiner that the charge is actually for secondary water rights and not an active service.

“The charge is for water rights that are on that piece of property,” Hess explained. “The farmer irrigated all of these (agricultural) lands back in the day, and that’s what the farmer was paying for; for his right to irrigate his farm. … When they decide to develop, for one reason or another, the owner said, ‘Well, I want secondary water systems here on my property.’ But, for one reason or another, he said, ‘I don’t want to install a secondary system over here.’ That’s a decision the developer makes when he develops that property.”

As Hess sees it, those water rights hold value for residents, particularly given the increasing scarcity of water in the state amid prolonged drought conditions. While it would likely be cost prohibitive to do so, people living in the developments could even combine their resources to install the infrastructure necessary to access the water. The water rights could also be purchased back by the district.

“Some people say, ‘Well, at $150 to $200 a year, this is still an investment,’ and they treat it as an investment in the future of their family because it is not really expensive. And if you were to go buy it today, it is terribly expensive,” he said.

Still, Hoffman and others living on the bench are upset about the financial hit they’re taking for water they may never have access to — water that only some property owners are being charged for.

“I bought my home in 2005. People across the street from me bought their home before that. They didn’t have that (charge) when they bought their home. They’re not getting that assessment on their property, 30 feet across the street,” Hoffman said. “It’s inconsistent. If it was everyone in the neighborhood, I’d say, ‘Oh yeah, they’ve got that out there for everyone, a neighborhood.’ But they don’t.”

Some residents who are being charged have even considered legal action.

“They should settle with us for the money they’ve taken and the service they have not provided,” Hoffman maintained.

For their part, Hess noted that Weber Basin Water recently responded to complaints by sending out letters informing residents about their water rights. He added that individuals who want to opt out of those rights and the associated charges can contact the district.

“We’ll review it with them to ensure that they know exactly what they’re giving up by canceling this water,” he said. “Then they would go ahead and sign the cancellation notice and that would go before the board. The board would review that and then would approve the cancellation.”

Meanwhile, Hoffman is imploring people to closely monitor their tax documents to avoid unnecessary charges.

“People need to look at their Davis County property tax assessment that just came, and not just from the standpoint of the value of your property,” he said. “You need to (check) every line item.”

Weber Basin Water Conservancy District can be reached via telephone at 801-771-1677.