Water Conservation

Water conservation goals were applied to historical water usage to project future demand. The Utah Division of Water Resources established water conservation goals in the May 2001 Utah State Water Plan. These goals are 12 and 1/2 percent reduction in the unit rate of water use by 2020, and 25 percent reduction by 2050 as compared to 1995 use levels. Water users who contract for water from the ULS System will be required to have water conservation plans in conformance with the State water conservation goals. Water conservation delays the need for developing additional water supplies. The graph below shows a hypothetical example of future water demand with and without conservation.

The current municipal indoor and outdoor water use in the ULS planning area is shown below. Indoor water use is fairly constant at about 80 gallons per capita per day. The outdoor water use is variable because of differences in water conveyance and use efficiency.

Implementation of water conservation measures under the ULS is expected to achieve municipal and industrial water usage in the range of 180-220 gallons per capita per day by 2050.

Outdoor water conservation measures in the ULS service area could be the most effective in reaching State and District goals, a 25 percent reduction in the state-wide water use rate would reduce municipal water use by 400,000 acre-feet per year by 2050, with 225,000 acre-feet of this reduction occurring within the Districts' 10-county service area.