Ready to polish: CUWCD opens groundwater cleaning plant in Vineyard
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- A ribbon cutting for a new Central Utah Water Conservancy District Groundwater Polishing Plant is shown Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Vineyard.
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- A ribbon cutting for a new Central Utah Water Conservancy District Groundwater Polishing Plant is shown Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Vineyard.
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- The CWP Groundwater Polishing Plant Basins are shown.
Last week, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District announced the completion of a project that will improve drinking water quality in the northern Utah County community.
The Groundwater Polishing Plant was built in the CUWCD’s Vineyard Complex and will polish water gathered from wells before it is distributed to homes in Vineyard, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Lehi and southern Salt Lake County.
“The completion of this facility reflects our commitment to providing high-quality drinking water for the communities we serve today and into the future,” CUWCD General Manager Gene Shawcroft said in a news release. “As our region grows, investments like this help us maximize local water resources while maintaining the high standards our customers expect.”
According to the CUWCD, groundwater is drawn from wells that go more than 1,500 feet deep. This groundwater already met state and federal drinking standards, but the new facility will remove naturally occurring iron and manganese from this water to improve its quality and appearance. CUWCD spokesman Zackary Seipert told the Daily Herald the project cost $100 million and was funded by the users that buy the water.
“Groundwater is a critical part of our water supply portfolio,” CUWCD Project Manager Shaun Hilton said. “This facility gives us greater flexibility in how we manage those supplies while delivering even higher-quality water to our customers.”
Construction started in 2023 and involved inserting pressure vessels, backwash systems and additional infrastructure, according to the news release.
The project is part of the CUWCD Water Development Project, or CWP. In 2005, the water agency bought Geneva Steel’s water rights to accommodate water needs for growing communities in Utah and Salt Lake counties.
Since 2007, CUWCD said it has built eight wells on the old Geneva Steel land and more than 23 miles of pipelines. The CWP, which also distributes water from the Don A. Christiansen Treatment Plant Orem, has a 53,300-acre-foot annual water supply. Much of that water goes to Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Lehi and Vineyard.
