In response to calls from elected officials to conserve water, I’m calling out one of the biggest water wasters along the Wasatch Front: The LDS Church.
I live next door to and downhill from my LDS stake center, and I’ve repeatedly had to beg the church’s facilities managers to cut back drastically on the watering of their lawns, as the excess water floods portions of my yard adjacent to the church. For the past 18 years, every night from April through October, the church’s sprinklers have come on, rain or shine.
I’ve seen similar wastefulness at other church meetinghouses. I believe the problem is that the church leaves decisions about watering up to local managers, some of whom clearly have no training in water-wise practices.
C’mon, LDS Church. We’re in a severe drought. We all need to do our part to conserve water, including you.
Blair Bateman, Provo