By Shana Helps
With Utah still struggling its way through one of the worst droughts in its history, conservationists warn that Utah locals still need to permanently change their water-use habits.
People need to be constantly mindful of how they are using their water, said Molly Waters, Utah conservation coordinator.
“Not letting the faucet run when you brush you teeth, that can save so much money and water,” she said. “Taking shorter showers, not just standing there basking in the shower.”
In addition to indoor water use, people should be careful with how they use water outdoors, Waters said. If people can avoid watering their lawn for one more day, they should.
People should be watchful of the weather as it cools down, Hardman said. They need to change the timers on their sprinkler systems accordingly.
“In the past, September and October have been some of the biggest water wasting months of all, because there just was no need for the water usage,” Hardman said.
“People don”t change their [sprinkler system] clocks when the season changes.”
There is an alternative to using water on the lawn, Waters said. People can just eliminate it.
“If the only time you walk on it is to mow it you don”t need it,” she said. “That”s a great way to take it out and put in some shrubs.”
Students too can conserve water, Hardman said. For instance, they can be careful when they wash their cars.
Some commercial car washes recycle their water, Hardman said. Students will save water by going there as opposed to spraying cars with a hose in the parking lot.
They can also fix leaks and report running toilets to their landlords as soon as possible, she said.
Over 75 percent of the population of Utah lives on 4 percent of the land, Waters said. The main problem is getting water to people.
“We have every drop of water that we”ve always had,” Waters said. “The problem is we”re trying to get it to people where it”s not naturally occurring and we have 6 billion people on the planet.”
The population is not going to stop growing so people need to make permanent habit changes, Waters said. People can redefine what a beautiful landscape is.
“Unless you”re a professional lawn mower and you really enjoy that it doesn”t make sense,” Waters said. “We”re not producing a crop. We put lots and lots of water on it [the lawn] so it will be green, so we can cut it and throw it away.”
The biggest concern is people will forget everything they have learned if there is a wet winter, said Nancy Hardman, central Utah conservation programs coordinator. The water problems are not just a drought issue; they are a growth issue.
“If we don”t change our water use habits, we will have this problem constantly, whether it”s a wet year or a dry year,” Hardman said.
Utah has been in a drought for four years, Waters said. There was not as much runoff water in the spring, starting in 1998. Last winter had good snowfall but the soil was so dry that all the moisture got soaked up, she said.
“It”s extra dire this year because our reservoirs are so low,” Waters said. “Our reservoirs are so low that even if we have a normal year next year, they won”t fill to capacity.”
People are not in danger because of the drought, Waters said.
“So far I haven”t heard of a situation where we”ve completely run out of water,” Waters said.
There may be a few wells dried up in southern Utah but there are other options for drinking water, Waters said. Water used for flushing the toilet or watering the lawn could be used as drinking water.
“So all those things can go before people stop drinking water,” Waters said. “I think we have plenty of water, it just comes down to where you”re using it and what you”re using it for.”
The drought is a particular problem on the agricultural side, Waters said, because farmers are losing productivity.
“It”s their livelihood,” Waters said, “It”s devastating.”
