Water-saving vital

Despite plentiful snowfall this past winter and full reservoirs and rivers this spring, it's still critical that Utahns continue to conserve water — especially in areas that are seeing rapid development and as the state looks forward to another long, hot summer, according to water-utility officials in cities across Utah.

In fact, temperatures reached record highs in several communities Friday — a day Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. had declared to be "Water Conservation Day." The high at Salt Lake City International Airport was 91 degrees, breaking the record of 89 degrees set in 2000. The temperature was 102 degrees near Hanksville.

Despite summer heat and Utah's building boom, if residents conserve voluntarily, cities don't plan on restricting water use.

Among the major public utilities, Provo's mayor and public-works director have the ability to mandate restrictions if necessary. Logan and St. George have a similar process.

In Salt Lake County, only Sandy now has an ordinance mandating the hours during which residents can water: 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. In Davis County, Kaysville has the same restriction. Violators get a warning on the first offense, a $1,000 fine on the second offense and lose secondary-water rights on the third offense.

Right now, most cities are simply asking for cooperation.

Bart Forsyth, assistant general manager of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, which serves about 500,000 residents, said Jordan Valley never placed restrictions on residents during the drought that lasted from 2000 to 2005.

"We don't want the public to forget what we told them throughout the drought cycle," Forsyth said. "We don't want to lose what we achieved."

What the water companies achieved was a reduction in per-capita usage. In 2000, residents on the Jordan Valley system used 255 gallons per capita per day. In 2005, use dropped to 207 gallons per capita per day.

"Here we are in the second year of a wetter cycle," Forsyth said. "It's the long term that's important, so conservation is not going to go away."

In Provo, whose residents used 275 gallons of water per capita per day in 2000, the conservation message got out, said Jan Holley, the city's water-conservation coordinator. In 2005, Provo residents used 211 gallons per capita per day. In St. George over the same time period, water usage dropped from 324 gallons per capita per day to 285.

But conservation is only part of the picture.