From Deseret News archives:
Education called best water-saver
Conservation a way of life in arid S. Utah county, official says
The nation's demand for water is increasing faster than the population is growing, and Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has a pending bill that would put federal research into technologies that can help conserve water or use it more efficiently.
Matheson said Utah's Washington County is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation, and one of the most arid, but it has figured out ways to use water effectively.
Ron Thompson, district manager for the Washington County Water Conservancy District, described several of the county's programs at a House Science and Technology Committee Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing. He pointed out that the county gets only about 8 inches of rain a year.
"Water conservation is not optional for us, it is a way of life that each of our citizens must embrace," Thompson said.
In the last 11 years, per-capita water use in the county has dropped 24 percent, and the county wants to save an additional 25 percent in 2008, he said.
The county also has ultra low flush toilet rebates, an AstroTurf rebate program and training for landscapers to use water-wise plants.
Matheson's bill, the Water-Use Efficiency and Conservation Research Act of 2007, would create an Environmental Protection Agency research and development program to promote water efficiency and conservation. The program would include a database where the government would collect and share information on water conservation.
The bill would direct the program to look at water storage and distribution systems, as well as obstacles faced when trying to achieve greater water efficiency. The program would also look at ways to treat and process rainwater, waste water and other water sources, such as those from bathtubs or kitchen appliances.
The EPA now has no specific efforts looking at water-supply issues, according to the committee. The agency focuses on water quality, treatment and pollution, but not on efficiency or conservation.
Thompson said he supports Matheson's bill because the population will continue to grow, and there will be water shortages and long-lasting droughts. A technology database is a "great solution" because water managers often are reinventing the wheel, when many share the same problems, Thompson said.
E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com
Comments
- Tigers vs. Miners by the numbers 2:32 a.m.
- Springville vs. Dixie by the numbers 2:25 a.m.
- Wasatch vs. Juan Diego numbers 2:22 a.m.
- Mustangs vs. Tbirds by the numbers 2:02 a.m.
- Nuggets win after clock review 1:41 a.m.
- Robbery ends poorly for one suspect 1:20 a.m.
- Wednesday on TV 12:59 a.m.
- Integration is possible on TV 12:59 a.m.
- Herbert talks land issues in D.C. 12:59 a.m.
- Developer looking to buy RSL share 12:58 a.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Utes get extra motivation
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Senators want food tax restored
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
266 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
153 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants nationwide will honor...
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
answer a simple question from an inquisitve reporter indicates either...
I think green power is great!! With that said for those who think all power...
I can actually feel my IQ drop whenever I listen to Beck or Hannity. ...
I don't get it. For some who comment, it seems to me that you have a bone to...
Gorbachev was and is a political hack. Smarter than some, no doubt, but a...
I did not create myself, but He in Whose image I am gave me life and free...
Is a great defender. Jazz game vs. the Sonics a few years back, he worked...
I have never seen this show, but I think I will tune in and catch it while it...
Of course this has nothing to do with the Catholic priest in the new abc show...
I was at the playoff game against Golden State a couple of years ago when...



You can be the first to comment on this story.