Conservation programs target water use

WEST JORDAN — She wears the garb of a succulent plant — spiny, yet feminine — with a hose for a lasso.

She occasionally appears in West Jordan's water bill, reminding residents to conserve water, and city employees say Cactus Kate is making a difference.

The cartoon character is just one approach the city has taken to encourage water conservation, and it's largely made possible by a $50,000 grant from the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. West Jordan is one of five of the 11 cities serviced by the district that are actively participating in the district's conservation programs.

Since rain was common in late May and early June, the district is worried its customers will forget how important conservation is.

"There's only so much we can do as a wholesale water provider," said Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District conservation programs manager Courtney Brown. "We have to get the agencies that are selling water to the people to implement a lot of these programs, so by funding some of these programs for them, that's how we can achieve conservation."

During the drought that lasted from about 2000 to 2005, Brown said, the overall use of water for residential, commercial and institutional uses dropped steadily in the district's service area from 255 gallons per capita per day in 2000 to 207 gallons per capita per day in 2005. But in the past two years, that rate has crept back up to 252 gallons per capita per day. That's a trend that worries water watchers all over the state.

"We really do believe that per capita water use has been dropping overall, long term, but that could have been in response to the drought," said Eric Klotz, Utah's Division of Water Resources water conservation and education section chief. "Now we're not in a drought anymore, people could be increasing their usage again. We're trying to get people to change their ethic so that it's not just about drought. Conservation is simply the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to meet the water needs of the growing population."

The Division of Water Resources has a statewide goal to reduce overall water consumption by 25 percent by 2050, but the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District has a goal to reduce overall water consumption in their district by 25 percent by 2025. The reason: drought or not, there isn't enough water to support unlimited usage and a population that is growing at astronomical rates.