Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert said he fears residents will see the end of six years of drought as an excuse to become wasteful.

"We live in a desert environment. Our concern is with the snowpacks and heavy rains people will start thinking they no longer need to conserve," Herbert said. "That's just false. Water conservation must become second nature for us."

The conservation campaign features inserts in all daily newspapers, along with TV and radio commercials, brochures and a 30-minute infomercial.

Residents, businesses and institutions also can schedule a free water check through the Governor's Water Conservation Team that will assess soil type, conduct an analysis on irrigation systems and provide a customized watering schedule with saving tips.

Over the next 20 years Utah is expected to add 1.3 million people who will need water, Herbert said. The state is expecting Utah's water demands to increase 70 percent over the next 30 years and will have to rely on conservation to help deliver the extra water.

The hot July temperatures have Herbert and conservation activists worried about summer water use.

"When it's this hot, people need to realize that even though we need to water our grass that studies have shown in Salt Lake City we are wasting 50 percent of what we use to water our lawns," said Merritt Frey, the executive director of the Utah Rivers Council. "We're not saying don't water; just water wisely."

Frey said in a phone interview the state isn't doing enough to curb water waste and that Utah's new education plan is only one piece of a larger puzzle.

"It's part of the right approach," she said. "But education seems to be the only tool in Utah's toolbox."

Frey would like to see the state increase the cost of water, create tougher city ordinances and offer rebates to residents who buy water conserving home appliances.

Herbert agrees that the state can do more.

"The government needs to set the example. We are going to try to do better," Herbert said. "We can only survive and sustain the growth that is clearly happening if we conserve."

A recent report issued by the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research ranked the per capita water use of 25 major cities in the Intermountain West. St. George was first in that report and was joined in the top five by Logan and Salt Lake City.

Herbert said the state was making progress in St. George by promoting low-water landscaping in new residential developments and new water-wise gardens at state agencies.

With cities like St. George growing rapidly each year, Herbert anticipates that the cost of water will continue to increase as the population expands faster than water reserves.

Larry Anderson, director of the division of water resources, said that despite population growth, the state had reduced its water use by 13 percent since 2000. Many cities have adopted water conservation plans that have been successful and those communities are setting the example.

"Our hope is that water conservation will be on people's minds," he said.

mburckhalter@sltrib.com

How to save water

Don't water lawns between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., when most of the water will evaporate.

Water just twice a week, even in the hottest weather.

Use water-wise landscaping or xeriscaping.

Make sure sprinklers are watering the grass, and not the sidewalk.

Hand-water brown spots instead of overwatering your whole lawn.

http://www.conservewater.utah.gov

http://www.slowtheflow.org

To schedule a free water check call: 435-673-3617 in Washington County, and 877-728-3420 for the rest of Utah.