A study from BYU released in February of this year quickly grabbed the attention of media outlets across the state. “The Great Salt Lake could disappear in 5 years” headlined every major news outlet in the state. Dozens of ideas were discussed to help save the lake, including pipelines from the Pacific Ocean or from the Colorado River Basin, but the reality is that water Conservation efforts are the best short-term and long-term solution. One important way to promote water conservation is to restructure the billing system for water use.
Currently, our water use is subsidized through property tax. Last legislative session, Sen. Dan McCay proposed legislation to restructure the billing system, but due to pressure from water districts, he ultimately abandoned that bill, and instead ran a bill to fund a feasibility study of that idea.
Last session Rep. Doug Owens also ran a bill to prohibit water use for irrigation purposes on lawns and certain properties during the shoulder season, which runs from October 1 to April 25. This bill also failed, but I recently spoke with Rep. Owens, and he plans to run it again with a few modifications. This bill is very promising from a conservation standpoint, but it doesn’t reflect Utah’s market values.
A better solution would be to implement a sharp increase in water rates above normal indoor use needs during the shoulder season. Not only would this bill reflect Utah’s market values, but it would also provide valuable real-world data to support a future bill like the one run by Sen. McCay.
Working to preserve our water resources requires cooperation and sacrifice from everyone, especially our water districts who have historically been against this change. It’s time for the government to put the Great Salt Lake first.
Austin Andersen, South Jordan
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