These should be cautionary tales for Utahns. This month, the leading international panel on climate change warned that global warming will very likely increase the possibility of severe drought in the American West in the coming decades. This will occur as the Utah population is soaring in arid places like St. George on the cusp of the Mojave Desert.
Against this backdrop, the Utah Division of Water Resources has issued a new report, "Drought in Utah: Learning From the Past - Preparing for the Future." Its message, conveyed in dry, bureaucratic prose, boils down to this: Drought is common in Utah, and the possibility of future dry spells lasting 10 years or longer is real. But we can mitigate the impacts and ensure environmental integrity by applying risk management in advance.
The report recommends nine strategies. The more unusual ones include storing water in undergound aquifers, reusing treated wastewater, and selling farm water to cities during shortages. Water systems should be better interconnected to move water around.
This does not mean just building big water projects. Much of the political debate today pits the builders against the river-huggers. In a sense, that's a false debate, because to best utilize a dwindling supply, Utahns must individually use less, protect watershed, diversify supplies and store and move water more efficiently.
In the past, Utahns have emphasized the building. We're playing catch-up on conservation, though we're getting better at that, too.
Public education is critical. For example, you may be wondering how much you should be watering your lawn now, or how you can conserve by xeriscaping. Reducing demand, by decreasing turf and requiring water-wise landscaping, is an important drought mitigation strategy.
For information on water conservation and Salt Lake City's Water Shortage Contingency Plan, visit the city's utilities Web site at www.ci.slc.ut.us/utilities and click on the water conservation graphic on the bottom left of the page. Or call 483-6860.
Outside Salt Lake City, pull up the Utah Division of Water Resources Web site at www.conservewater.utah.gov, or call 801-538-7254. That's also where you can read the new drought report.
