WEST JORDAN, Utah — Jenny Grayson did a "DIY" project, tearing out grass on the side of her home and putting in a beautiful garden with roses, trees and other plants.
"It has a special meaning for me, because I did it for my sister to remember her," she told FOX 13 News on Thursday.
She watched YouTube videos on gardening and even installed her own drip irrigation system. Grayson took advantage of rebates offered by the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District for water conservation.
"I am so happy with how it turned out," she said. "It is my little secret garden and the neighbors just love coming by."
Before, the area was just turf and Grayson admitted her family never used it except to mow the lawn. Her family's water bill has also dropped as a result of the change.
"It’s actually gone down quite a bit. Even though this is a smaller area, we were watering it and just to see the amount that’s gone down? We want to take out more grass," she said.
LDS Church says it is instituting water-saving landscaping measures:
Efforts like Grayson's have a much broader impact than just her water bill or even in her neighborhood. The water she has saved has gone to help the Great Salt Lake.
"We told our customers at the beginning of the spring that if they’re able to conserve as much as they did last year or get close, then we’d be happy to send some of that water to the lake," said Kelly Good, the community engagement manager for the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. "We were able to do that this year."
This year, the district (which supplies water to a large part of the Salt Lake Valley) is donating 5,300 acre-feet of water to the Great Salt Lake that was conserved by customers. In addition to that, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it is donating 4,700 acre-feet of water to the Great Salt Lake.
It is part of a larger deal the faith has made with the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, where it will lease water shares it has as a property owner to the Great Salt Lake over the next ten years.
"This is a lease with the Church of water they have available right now that they’re not able to use on some of their farms," said Marcelle Shoop, the trust's executive director.
While 10,000 acre feet of water may not sound like much on the scale of the crisis the Great Salt Lake is facing, Shoop insisted "every drop counts." The trust was created by the Utah State Legislature with $40 million in funding to buy, lease or borrow water for the lake. It is run by the environmental groups The Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society.
Great Salt Lake drops to a low, kicking off forced conservation measures:
Shoop said the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District's contribution is an example of how people's own actions can help.
"One of the things we hear all the time is, 'Why should I save water if it’s just going to development? It’s not going to the lake.' Here this is an example of how individuals can contribute water to the lake by just working on their own," she said.
But more can be done. This year, water districts across Utah tracked a significant increase in outdoor watering. Good said the number of people applying for landscaping conversion incentives has also started to plateau.
"We saw about the same amount of people participating in our rebate projects and things like that as last year and our per capita use did go up over the past couple of years," she said. "We’d love to see people getting back to the type of water use we were seeing in 2021 and 2022."
The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District is holding regular events on ways people can save water, including one this weekend.
Grayson said she's glad to know her new garden is helping the Great Salt Lake, in a way.
"That makes me very happy because I know what that lake means to the state and what it does," she said. "Fill it up! I want to see it filled up!"
This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake—and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late. Read all of our stories at greatsaltlakenews.org.
