Delta County cisterns do not solve new domestic water supply

A cistern in the yard is a familiar sight on the dry mesas and bench land of Delta County: a buried or standing tank that someone keeps topped up with hauled water. It works fine for a cabin that is already there. What it cannot do is unlock anything new.

A cistern, or any other storage vessel that has to be refilled from an off-site source, does not count as an acceptable domestic water supply when a project asks for more. The distinction the county draws is between keeping the lights on and turning up the dial. An existing use can go right on being served by a refillable tank. But the moment a parcel is split into smaller lots, or the use is intensified (another dwelling, a heavier draw on the same ground), a permanent water source has to be identified first. Hauled water is a supply, not a source.

This catches two people off guard most often. One is the buyer charmed by an affordable parcel that has neither a tap nor a well, picturing a tank truck as the easy fix. The other is the longtime owner hoping to add a second home for family and assuming the existing cistern simply carries over. In both cases the answer turns on which question is being asked.

So before you bank on hauling water, take the actual plan to Planning and ask what that plan requires. Continuing an existing use and building something new sit on opposite sides of this line.