We’ve had the warmest, least snow-packed winter on record, and are in our fourth year of drought. Though Salt Lake County is not restricting water use, it is vital that we join together to help conserve this precious resource.
Because of these drought conditions, Salt Lake County is supportive of the recommendations by the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. This District services two-thirds of Salt Lake County and has done a great job helping to educate the public on ways to conserve water.
Some of these recommendations include turning sprinkler timers to manual mode and watering manually as needed, as well as following “Water after dark” practices of watering between 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. For other ideas on how to plant drought-tolerant plants and grasses, visit the beautiful Conservation Gardens in West Jordan.
Salt Lake County has taken dramatic steps over the years to increase our conservation of water. Our parks and recreation department has made changes in the watering of our 5,000 acres of park space in our 104 parks. Some of these changes include: adjusting mowing habits and letting the grass grow longer, aerating a minimum of twice per year, and using a central irrigation system which monitors moisture content level in the turf and waters according to need. They are also evaluating turf areas that can be converted to low-water plantings.
With more than one million people in Salt Lake County and 600,000 more expected to live here by 2050, it is critical that we all make changes and adjust our watering habits, not just for this year, but for years to come.
We urge residents, businesses and governmental entities to join with us in supporting these waterwise best practices. For details on waterwise best practices, please see Jordan Valley Water's website: jvwcd.org.
Here are some of the news clips from KSL, KUTV, and ABC 4 from our press conference:
One problem with conserving water is that when we do it, the rate we pay is increased.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the updates
ReplyDeleteIt seems we are in a constant state of drought. It is true every time we conserve the cost of water goes up. It leads me to ask: have we over built in these desert valleys and if we are truly in a drought, if we have such water shortages, why are more building permits being issued, to an already over taxed water system? Think about it, at any given time we have at least 2000 new homes being built, many of which are high density home sites. These add to water consumption in a big way. Are we conserving our water usage so that we can cram more houses and people into these valleys until there won't be enough to go around for those that already live here? If so don't conserve water, use what you need, it may be the only limit on how many people can move in, creating a certain shortage even if there is no drought. It would make water more plentiful for those of us already here, instead of causing a shortage of water, the demands would level out and be the same year after year. If not one day the higher demand for water will keep the price rising until only those that can afford it because of over building or over population will have access to their needs for it..
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