West Jordan city officials are issuing an urgent plea. They're asking residents to step up efforts to conserve water.
The warm, dry, and windy
weather of the past few
weeks has taken it's toll.
A lightening strike a couple of weeks ago damaged
one of West Jordan's wells. An old pump is also
experiencing trouble.
So conserving water is especially
important right now.
City leaders are asking all residences and businesses to voluntarily stop
watering their lawns between the hours of 10 a.m. and
6 p.m.
They also want homes and businesses with even numbered
addresses to water on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday.
Residents with odd numbered addresses should water
on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
The City does not anticipate mandatory conservation unless the situation worsens.
More Info
From a West Jordan City News Release--
The city has a weather station which measures the evapotraspiration (ET) rate. This is used to determine how much water is being lost from the ground due to wind, sun, humidity, etc. Normally at this time of year, ET rates are expected to be about 1.5 inches per week. But last week, it was measured at over 2.1 inches, 40% more than expected.
The unusually low humidity readings, combined with the relatively windy conditions are considered the prime culprits.
Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, the City's main water wholesaler, has worked with the City to try to increase water delivery where the most serious shortages are occurring. The efforts will hopefully minimize the shortfalls that some residents are experiencing.
The City's parks are reducing their water usage, in some cases by as much as 50%.
Paying For Water
With resevoirs low and a drought continuing, an unusual partnership is calling for conservation.
The Utah Taxpayers Association and the environmental group Utah Rivers Council want water districts to stop relying on property taxes to pay for water.
Howard Stephenson/Utah Taxpayers Assn.: "LIVING IN A DESERT STATE, IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO FINALLY REALIZE THAT THE WATER USER OUGHT TO PAY THE FULL COST OF HIS WATER AND THAT WAY WE CAN BE SURE THAT WE'RE UTILIZING OUR WATER IN THE MOST EFFICIENT MANNER."
Stephenson says a recent study shows Salt Lake Valley residents pay just 49 percent of the cost of water in their water bills. The rest comes from property taxes, sales taxes and income taxes.
They say that encourages some to waste water, while penalizing those who conserve.
Stephenson: "IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO CAMOFLAGE THE REAL COST OF WATER BY HIDING IT IN THE PROPERTY TAX."
