Layton garden teaches water conservation

Since August has passed with no measurable precipitation, water conservation is back in the forefront.

Utah is always dry, but the increasing needs for water is prompting many to take a harder look at how they use water.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has asked members of Utah's Water Conservation Team, of which Weber Basin Water Conservancy District is a member, to reduce per capita water use in Utah. The goal is a 25 percent decrease by the year 2050.

WBWCD is a wholesale and retail supplier of culinary and irrigation water for more than 50 cities in Davis, Weber, Summit, Morgan and Box Elder counties. The amount of water it supplies is staggering! Running through their system is some 350 cubic feet per second or 250 million gallons per day.

I recently visited the district's Water Conservation Learning Garden in Layton to see how it's educating northern Utah water users. Tage Flint, the general manager, showed me the gardens and shared the philosophy behind them.

Flint, originally from Davis County, most recently worked at the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. While there, he gained an appreciation for the value of teaching people to conserve water through practical demonstrations.

"We are trying to demonstrate with commercial and residential landscapes that we are much more water efficient but still family friendly. We want to dispel the idea that we have to plant cactus and spread cinders to conserve water," he said.

"We are different from Tucson, Arizona. We are not the low desert but have a higher mountain climate. We want people to see the kinds of plants they can grow here and how they do not have to sacrifice beauty to conserve water."

The mission of the garden is to "provide an opportunity for community members to learn firsthand about the beautiful types of waterwise landscapes in a semi-arid climate. It is intended for visitors to learn not only about plant material that is water wise, but to learn how to care for and irrigate plants in different soil types and slope conditions. This garden creates a setting for outdoor classrooms and scenic nature walks."

It is also a working operation. The landscape surrounds the district's headquarters and water-treatment plant. One area is planted over a million gallon water tank, and Flint said it is designed to use almost no water because they don't want to keep the soil over the tank wet. The vents on the top of the tank have been converted to benches to make it more attractive to visitors.