The Public Utilities Department has augmented its efforts to protect watershed lands with the Keep it Pure Campaign, which educates Salt Lake City residents, particularly children, on the importance of watershed lands. The Department has partnered with the Cottonwood Canyon Association to arrange outdoor classroom activities on watershed lands during the fall and winter. This year, educational materials on watershed protection will be incorporated into curriculum materials for fourth and ninth grade students in the Salt Lake City School District, to impart an ethic of preservation of our valuable water resources.

In addition to protecting our water supply from the tremendous pressures to develop watershed lands in the Wasatch Canyons, which pressure will only be exacerbated by the construction of a proposed so-called "Interconnect" tunnel or paved road between Park City, Big Cottonwood Canyon, and Little Cottonwood Canyon, we must also conserve water to protect against drought and meet the demands of our growing population. We live in the second-driest state in the Union, and face an additional challenge in that we have, as a percentage of population, one of the largest daily commuter influxes of any city in the country. Despite these challenges, Salt Lake City reduced its water use by nearly 15% from 2000 to 2006. Our daily per capita use, which doesn�t include our commuter population, is 220 gallons daily per capita, well below the state average of 245. This year, we will work with the Council to craft and implement an ordinance allowing, and perhaps even encouraging, drought-tolerant landscaping, which is found throughout the City in beautiful model gardens.

Throughout his forty-eight years at the Department of Public Utilities, including twenty-seven years as Director, LeRoy Hooton�s accomplishments have been remarkable. Through his efforts, the Department of Public Utilities has become a national leader for water quality, infrastructure management, and planning. Much of the pristine land in our beautiful canyons will be forever preserved because of LeRoy�s passion, hard work, and dedication. In recognition of his tremendous, exemplary efforts, and the highest values toward which he has always committed himself, the Public Utilities Building will be renamed the LeRoy W. Hooton Public Utilities Building. We thank LeRoy for his extraordinary service to the people � past, present, and future � of Salt Lake City, and throughout this region. Later generations will be grateful to LeRoy for the tremendous legacy he will leave to them.