House OKs Water Week for early May

A state Water Week came closer to reality Thursday when the Utah House of Representatives approved a measure dedicating the first full week in May for the observance.

The House unanimously passed HB20, sponsored by House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, R-Salt Lake. A Senate committee is to discuss the matter today.

During a press conference at City Creek Park, Becker noted that when Salt Lake Valley was settled, the idea was to make the desert bloom.

"We are in changing times," he said. "We certainly want to continue with that notion." But a great deal has been learned in the past 150 years, he said, and Utahns know "we really need to be careful with our use of water if we're going to take advantage of that resource for the future."

Change that should come includes "the way we landscape," he said. "It means the way different water districts, public and private, work together. And it means being able to be as efficient as we can on the use of water for a whole variety of reasons."

Among the reasons, Becker added, is economics.

Financing for Utah observances about water will come from a $250,000 grant awarded by the Partnership for a Nation of Learners, said Lisa Cohne. The grant, established by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Institute for Museum and Library Services, will be administered through the Water Wise Utah Partnership.

Sixty-eight entities applied for grants and 13 were given. "It's a pretty prestigious award that we're very proud of," said Lisa Cohne, project manager for the grant.

Over the grant's two-year lifetime, it will be used to bring information to the state as well as five target cities: Salt Lake City, South Jordan, Draper, Ogden and St. George. Water-related programming will be sponsored on public television and radio, and a Water Wise Utah Web site will be set up as "a clearing house for as many water issues and water-related topics as possible," she said.

Cohne added that an exhibit at the Utah Museum of Natural History, on the University of Utah campus, will explore water issues tied to the state public school curriculum.

"Water is to a community what blood is to the body," she said. "Water is the lifeblood of our state. Utah Water Week and the Water Wise Utah project will play a crucial role in Utah's future."

Jennie Hoover, water conservation coordinator with the Utah Division of Water Resources, said over the past several years "there's been a big push for water conservation" in the state. Conservation efforts have dropped per-capita use, she said.

About 60 percent of home water use is outdoors, mostly for watering yards. "Half of our increasing demand can be met through conservation, which is a lot cheaper than developing new sources of water," Hoover said.

"We can all make some efforts to conserve, change bad water habits and save quite a bit of water, simply through conservation."

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