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District Right of Way

Background

The Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy owns and operates two large aqueducts for the purpose of conveying water. The Salt Lake Aqueduct (SLA) is a 42-mile long pipeline that carries water from Deer Creek Reservoir in Wasatch County to a storage reservoir in Salt Lake County. The SLA is constructed primarily of 20-foot long sections of 69-inch inside diameter reinforced concrete pipe.

Large concrete pipe section on display with a water treatment facility in the background and clear skies.
Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant

 

The Point of the Mountain Aqueduct (POMA) is the connecting pipeline between the Point of the Mountain Water Treatment Plant and the Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant. The 12 miles of pipeline travels from Draper to Cottonwood Heights.

Large pipeline installation in a trench with construction equipment in the background.

In all, the District maintains approximately 57 miles of pipeline as well as its related structures. Both the SLA and POMA are critical to the water supply of more than 450,000 people.

See our Facilities Map

Rights-of-Way Policy

A Right-of-Way is a perpetual interest in real property for the purposes of operating, maintaining, replacing, and protecting the District's aqueducts and facilities. This interest in land includes property ownership and recorded easements. Salt Lake Aqueduct and Point of the Mountain Aqueduct rights-of-way were acquired before and during construction of the aqueducts.

Regulating Encroachments

The District's Policies and Procedures provides guidelines and authorization for the licensing and use of District corridors. Use of the District corridors by someone other than the District is referred to as an encroachment. 

See Rights of Way Policy (Policies & Procedures Chapter 16)

Placing improvements in the rights-of-way requires a written agreement with the District. The written agreements are intended to accommodate other uses of District corridors so long as it is clear that such uses will not interfere with the District's aqueducts and related facilities.

Property Transfers

Right-of-way easements appear in the title reports for a given property when it is transferred from seller to buyer. When selling property with an easement, property owners must disclose easement requirements and restrictions to new owners.

Contact Us

Please submit your Rights of Way or encroachment questions to rightsofway@mwdsls.org or click Email Rights of Way. In order to address your questions, please include the property address and city in the email.