Cottonwood Improvement District is a Local District of the State of Utah, established in 1955 by a resolution of the Salt Lake County Commission. The District is governed by a three-member, elected Board of Trustees. Its purpose is to collect and treat wastewater within a 22.5 square mile area which includes portions of Cottonwood Heights City, Sandy City, Murray City, Midvale City and unincorporated Salt Lake County.

Proper collection and treatment of wastewater protects public health and helps to maintain water quality in our streams and lakes.

Our goal as a District is to provide a high level of service while minimizing costs. We provide a high level of service through a rigorous maintenance program and by planning to ensure sufficient capacity within the system. Avoiding sewer overflows into basements, or onto roadways and into streams, is our highest priority.

The District owns and maintains 322 miles of pipelines and serves a population of 125,000. Each day approximately 10 million gallons of wastewater is collected and conveyed to the Central Valley Water Reclamation facility where it is cleaned and treated to meet State and Federal standards, and then discharged to the Jordan River. Cottonwood Improvement District owns about a 19% share in Central Valley.

Capital improvement projects are a very important part of what we do to complete our mission and are where the majority of District revenues are spent. Currently the Central Valley treatment plant is undergoing renovation and upgrading to treat wastewater to new standards. These standards are imposed by the State of Utah Division of Water Quality and must be met by the year 2025. The District’s share of costs at Central Valley have risen significantly over the past several years and will continue to rise as construction projects are funded. The total cost of the Central Valley renovation is expected to be 350 million dollars, with Cottonwood Improvement District paying about 19%, or 67 million of the total. Additional capital improvement projects are needed within the District’s collection system to meet capacity needs and repair or replace aging infrastructure. Every patron of the District helps to pay these costs through user fees and property taxes.