Water Supply Dwindles In Utah

Utah officials are sounding the alarm bell: The state's water supply is growing ill.

"Utah's top authorities on water say the pulse of one of the state's most precious resources indicates it is facing a number of maladies that will only grow worse over time if neglected," the Deseret News reported.

Water scarcity is a chief concern. A report released in September by research group the Utah Foundation suggests Utah utilities may need to take new steps to support conservation.

"A new report recommends Utah leaders reconsider how water is priced for rate payers and recommends that delivery systems do a better job of tracking use at the faucet, providing 'real-time" feedback on consumption," KSL reported.

The report also recommended policymakers reexamine "the role of property tax funding for water agencies, with a goal of reducing tax support and increasing water rates" and "create more significant price gradations in block-rate water plans."

Utah is the nation's second-driest state, the Deseret News reported. Mike Styler, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, noted a number of factors poised to affect the dwindling water supply.

"We only have so much water, and the supply is less reliable because our weather patterns are changing, yet we have the second-fastest growing state in the nation with a growing demand," Styler said in Deseret News the report.

Styler is not alone in citing changing weather patterns as a challenge for the water supply. Many experts see climate change as a problem for utilities.

The Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA) is a group of water authorities dedicated to working on how climate change issues affect drinking utilities. The group said in a letter to Congress several years ago that “many of the most critical impacts of global climate change will manifest themselves through the hydrologic system, and there is already strong evidence that climate change is having an impact on the world’s water resources.”


Check out Water Online's Water Scarcity Solution Center.