Licensing through DOPL
The Utah Division of Professional Licensing, or DOPL, issues journeyman and master plumber licenses and the contractor licenses that plumbing companies hold. Cities and counties along the Wasatch Front issue the replacement permit, and their inspectors want seismic restraint, an altitude-rated gas burner and a piped relief valve on every new heater.
From the Wasatch Front to Dixie
Salt Lake City, Ogden and Provo rely on canyon streams, reservoirs and wells fed by Wasatch snowpack, and that supply turns noticeably harder by late summer. St. George and Washington County, at a much lower elevation in the southwest corner, draw on the Virgin River basin and local aquifers with heavy mineral content and long, hot summers. Softeners are common in both places. Gas heaters along the Wasatch Front generally run on Enbridge Gas Utah, while Rocky Mountain Power supplies most of the state's electricity. Prices and options for a new tank are covered in water heater replacement, and calcium buildup in noisy water heater flushing.