Saving water is in hands of lawmakers

I would like to ask you to take a few minutes to read about a very important piece of legislation that has not received much attention, HB380. This bill is focused on water conservation. The water conservation that I am talking about is the kind that we have all become familiar with, such as "Slow the Flow" and "Rip Your Strip." In other words, this is about reducing the amount of water that we use.

This bill would create a state facility water-conservation program and appropriate $500,000 of one-time money to the program. The first of the two main components of this bill are that all facilities in the future would be designed according to water-wise principles. Secondly, the Division of Water Resources would use the money appropriated by this bill to implement water-conservation projects at existing state facilities. These projects would be on-the-ground changes to building infrastructure that would save water, such as installation of a smart irrigation controller or waterless urinals.

This bill has numerous supporters due to the vital role that water conservation plays in meeting Utah's future water needs. The population of Utah in 2000 was 2,200,000 people. It is projected that the population will more than double to 5,400,000 by the year 2050. The only way to meet our growing state's future water needs is through a combination of options, the most important of which is water conservation. The state has set a goal to reduce municipal and industrial per capita water use by 25 percent by the year 2050. Achieving this goal will be equivalent to developing nearly 450,000 acre-feet of water. This is more water than the Lake Powell pipeline and Bear River projects combined will develop.

Over the past several years Utahns have been bombarded with water-conservation messages. Fortunately for all of us, these messages have not been falling on deaf ears. From 2000 to 2005, Utahns reduced their water use by more than 10 percent. That is a truly remarkable achievement, something that we should all be proud of. This demonstrates the willingness of individual Utahns to do their part to help meet our state's water-conservation goals.

However, our citizens get mixed messages about the importance of water conservation from the state. Every one of us has seen at some time or another some examples of water waste, such as sprinklers watering a lawn during a rainstorm or misaligned sprinklers watering the street. When citizens see this at a state facility, they are receiving a very mixed message about the value of water and the importance of using water wisely.