Utah is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. From the Colorado river to Lake Powell, and everything in between. Residents are tourists alike delight in the natural scenery. Salt Lake City and the surrounding communities are a wonder to behold. However, these are also resources that are important to the well being of the community that lives there.

Water is Life in a Desert

Various projections have shown that the state will have an increasing water crisis in the coming years. Most residents have been relying on a single source of water that is potentially unreliable, especially in the coming years. If anything were to happen to the Virgin River basin, much of the state would be without water. Droughts are already a regular occurrence, happening just about every other year.

To prepare for this a pipeline was proposed to bring water down from the Colorado river. The pipeline is a 142 miles long, and connect to St George. This would alleviate any water shortages or contamination problems that may arise in the future. It will also help to save water in the region. It’s a project 10 years in the making.

Plans Are Not Set in Stone

While the plan itself is fairly straightforward, securing funds is less so. One of the selling points of this plan was to set it up so that the pipeline could provide hydro electric power to offset the costs of the project. This was to be achieved by using two reservoirs it the top and bottom of the Hurricane Cliffs. When power was needed some of the water at the top would be run past the power generating equipment and stored at the bottom reservoir.

However, this part of the plan was recently pulled from the project. The FERC application has been withdrawn, and the reservoirs won’t be built. Most of the costs in the FERC application will be reusable when submitting the current project. While this will remove the planned revenue source, this also lowers the project cost. Additionally, this will help minimize the potential environmental impact the plan may have.

A Brighter, if Somewhat Wetter Future

The primary goal of the pipeline has always been to bring water to the people. It will ensure the communities there continue to thrive without water shortages that have plagued other states. This project will help save water in the region, and the changes will preserve the natural beauty of the state. Utah will continue to be home to it’s great vistas and wildlife. There’s more to the state than Salt Lake City. It’s residents will continue to have the refreshing water needed to combat summer’s heat

We want to give a quick shoutout to all of our sponsors who help us share our important message. Today we want to give a special Thank You to CK Builders. Check them out at https://ckbuildersinc.com. They care about saving water too!

Maps Driving Directions:

https://goo.gl/maps/6BtuKrJGFJkRG9AV7

https://goo.gl/maps/fKkNdzzL3bke7viw7

Nowadays, no one can deny the importance of water conservation in the human environment. The efforts of the government and residents of Utah has made a clear example to the rest of the world on how to prevent or combat water scarcity.
According to information obtained from the government Environmental Protection Agency EPA, an average American family consumes more than 300 gallons of water per day, out of which 70% is used inside the home. In 2016, a report by the United States Geological Survey on water use indicated that Utahns are some of the highest users of water per-capita in the US. That’s about 187 gallons on average per person. A larger fraction of this number is however not attributed to home use. More than 78% of the water is actually directed for use in farmlands for irrigation. In the United States, only Nevada and Idaho are the states with a higher per-capita use of water. But with all the lawn watering and sprinkler systems in Salt Lake City we are not doing much better.

However, in 2018, the conscious efforts directed at saving water in Salt Lake City has led to a 36% reduction in water usage. And now, the state wouldn’t need to commence with its plan to divert water from northern Utah’s Bear River, the biggest contributor of water to the Salt Lake, for agricultural and municipal use in the state.

Is water diversion a way to shore up water supply?

For over 30 years, it was argued by environmental and industry experts that going ahead with the water diversion plan would greatly reduce the water level of the Great Salt Lake by 11 feet until the diversion is stopped.
It was also argued that depending on water diversion to curb water scarcity could also negatively affect the habitats of the brine shrimp and migratory birds. Mineral extraction companies around the lake would not also be left out of the negative effect of the proposed diversion. Due to the fluctuation of the level of water as a result of the proposed plan, farmers could also suffer from the resulting overflooding of their farmlands and grazing areas.
But still, it was necessary that the supply of water needed to be buoyed or at least conserved to cater for the growing human population in Utah, especially the metropolis of the Salt Lake City. Hence, other environment-friendly means of saving water in Salt Lake City had to be sought.

Conserving water through meter installation.

Speaking on how the state has been able to achieve this feat (36% water use reduction), Todd Adams, the deputy director of the division which oversees water resources in Utah, says that the use of water meters has been pivotal.
According to Todd Adams, water which is piped to properties for use outdoors but never used at home for bathing, drinking or related uses has greatly contributed to the success of water conservation recorded in the Salt Lake City and Utah in general. He explained that in some water conservancy districts, about 5,000 to 7,000 water meters were installed and this has led to a more efficient way of conserving water. Find out how to install a water meter if you don’t currently have one because seeing what you use can help you decrease what you use.

Seeking legalization for water banking

To supplement water conservancy efforts, members of representatives are also proposing for the legalization of water banking, something that has been placed in an analogy similar to that of saving money in the bank during times of financial surplus. Therefore, people who need water can simply borrow from water banks or those who water-bank during times of surplus wouldn’t be in a limbo during times of scarcity.

There is so much more we can be doing to help save water. Fortunately, Klingler & Associates are helping us get the word our there so that we can start saving water together.

Map Driving Direction:

https://goo.gl/maps/gyKro5ryLZH2

https://goo.gl/maps/BF5gTwaLVqr

We want to preserve our earth’s precious water and that starts right here at home in Salt Lake City, UT. Join us as we fight to conserve the limited amount of precious water our earth has to offer us. We can no longer waste water by taking carelessly longer showers or obsessively watering our landscaping in Sandy. Everyone in every city needs to do better.

Conserving water is an important issue, and we need to start it in our hometowns TODAY!  — Ian Marsh

Water conservation is a critical matter. Luckily, great Company is willing to help us keep you up to date on how we can better conserve mother earths water.