SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah heads into a heatwave with above-average temperatures statewide, the state's overall water situation is causing concern.
"The new normal? Is not normal. That’s what we have to deal with," Utah Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Joel Ferry said in an interview with FOX 13 News on Wednesday.
New reports coming in from multiple government entities have forecast some rough times ahead for Utah as we deal with drought and impacts from climate change. This winter has already been 2 to 3-degrees above normal. Snow melt is forecast to outpace what new snow we do ultimately get. Spring runoff is also projected to be poor, which will put more strain on reservoirs.
"Our snow water equivalent, that’s the moisture that’s in the snow, is at 8.4 inches," Ferry said. "The previous record low was 10.3 inches. So we’re talking about significantly lower than the previous record low."
The one bright spot? Soil moisture is still good, which means new snow and water isn't so quickly absorbed into the ground.
But the entire state of Utah is in some form of drought right now. That will impact already stressed areas in the Great Salt Lake and Colorado River basins. Lake Powell, for example, is forecast by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to drop so dramatically that it could cease to generate electricity for millions by the end of this year. The states along the river, including Utah, are in the middle of negotiations for new agreements to manage the river.
The Great Salt Lake could hit a new record low this year and local water districts are already starting to sound the alarm about needed conservation from all areas.
"We’re looking at a voluntary 5 to 10% reduction of everyone across the board, which shouldn’t be too difficult," said Kelly Good, the community engagement manager for the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, which supplies water to a large part of the Salt Lake Valley. "That’s just watering a little less each time."
The Weber Basin Water Conservancy District told FOX 13 News it was exploring delaying irrigation season this year and looking at 20% cuts for its customers. The Central Utah Water Conservancy District said it is evaluating its options, but would rely on reservoir storage while pushing conservation. The Washington County Water Conservancy District said it did not intend to ask municipal customers to make cuts beyond the typical conservation requests, but agriculture users could see cuts. Salt Lake City Public Utilities said it intended to announce its drought measures at a news conference on Thursday, including reductions of 10 million gallons of water a day in its service area.
Good said last year, a significant increase in outdoor residential water use was documented.
"If we continue down the trend of last year? Then we’re going to run down our reservoirs quite a bit," she said.
Good said Jordan Valley is asking residents to wait to water lawns until at least May 15.
Water districts are gearing up to offer more incentives to get people to get rid of water-hogging nonfunctional turf (that's grass that isn't used except to mow it) in favor of water-wise landscaping. Ferry said the state is also gearing up to lease more water from agriculture users, paying them to grow less crops and send the water downstream to the Great Salt Lake.
"We need to be smart about how we use our water," Ferry said.
