When Steve and Connie Ault erected a milelong network of zip lines on their Provo Canyon property in 2012, they failed to get permission from the operators of a major water pipeline crossing the land, triggering a lawsuit from the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy.
Providing water to some 400,000 Salt Lake County residents, the district has long held an easement along the entire 42-mile length of the Salt Lake Aqueduct from Deer Creek Reservoir to the mouth of Parleys Canyon.
The district’s ensuing six-year legal battle with the Aults over the commercial zip line operation suffered a serious setback this week, when the Utah Supreme Court reduced the scope of the easement, concluding it does not give the district regulatory authority over land it does not own.