Water Q & A

Utah water crisis Q and A, for Mom and Dad

You’ve both lived here for a while, and have surely heard about the water
crisis and have been told to water our lawn less, but do you know the specific
details? This water problem impacts us in a lot of ways already, and in the future
it will impact us even more. I made this Q and A to answer questions that I
thought you would have, like:

How would Utah’s water problem affect us?

There are two main ways the water crisis could affect us: the first is that as
water becomes more and more scarce, the price will go higher and more
restrictions will be put into place by the state government, and Utah’s natural
resources will be threatened. This will put strain on Utah’s economy and hurt
Utah’s environment.

The second consequence is farther along, and has to do with the nature that
Utah has. The water crisis impacts bodies of water all over the state of Utah,
from our portion of the Colorado River, up to the Great Salt Lake. You may have
heard news stories about how the Great Salt Lake is in danger, but you might not
know all of the details. So one question you might have is:

What could happen to the Great Salt Lake?

 The great salt lake is at risk of being completely dried out within the next 2
decades. The lake has already had its footprint halved in the past few decades.
There are two reasons that this drop in water level has occurred: one is because
of how climate change has impacted the state of Utah, and two is that Utah has
been consuming more water than we’ve ever had before. The image on the right
shows the difference between the Great Salt Lake’s water levels in 1985, and
2022.

What about the mountains? Will I still be able to

snowboard?
In the next few decades, the impact of the water crisis in Utah, especially the
shrinking of the Great Salt Lake, could have very bad impacts on the levels of
precipitation in the mountains. We will still get snow, but less, and
snowboarding will get more and more difficult as precipitation levels fall.

What can we do to curb our water usage?

One thing we can do to conserve water is something that we are already
doing: planting water wise plants that are better suited for Utah’s climate. We
already have Russian sage plants, and are going to get more of these plants and
better grass in the future. We could make different changes that would help us
reduce our water usage, such as getting more water efficient appliances and a
better sprinkler system.

Are these actions really enough to make an impact?

While reducing our own water consumption is important, it won't impact
how much water the rest of the state uses. Reaching out to politicians would be
one of the best ways to have an impact on the problem. Utah needs legislation
centered around reducing our water usage to become sustainable, and the only
way that can happen is if people put pressure on our politicians to make
changes.

What we can do
 We can further reduce our water consumption at home by doing a few simple
things:

Conserve Water Installing more water efficient appliances

Taking shorter showers
Check faucets and pipes for leaks
Plant a less water intensive lawn

We can spread awareness and get legislation to help by:

Reach out to
Sending mail to state representatives about the issue
politicians Talking about the issue with friends and family
Raising awareness about the threat to the Great Salt Lake