Estimated read time: 7-8 minutes
Even after two years of above normal winter precipitation, much of the Southwestern U.S. remains in a long-term mega-drought. With a rapidly growing population, Utah has placed an increased emphasis on water conservation in recent years.
So how does Utah stack up on water usage compared to other states?
When it comes to per capita water use in the U.S. Utah ranks second at 169 gallons per day. That's only slightly behind Idaho's 184 gallons per person each day.
Numbers like these from Statista are often used as evidence that Beehive State residents are water wasters. After all, in order for a person to use that much water each day, perhaps people are taking decadent daily baths in large jetted tubs or lengthy showers that use up every drop of household hot water.
In reality, however, across the United States, the amount of water a person uses is likely determined more by geography than by their water wastefulness.
Life in a desert environment
Each state determines how it reports water usage, so looking solely at per capita consumption isn't always an accurate measure. In some places that number only considers residential indoor use while others also include water used outdoors for yard irrigation or for agriculture.
As Energy Resource Center explains, "Obviously, states that don't get an abundance of rain tend to see higher usage, as homeowners attempt to keep lawns and landscaping alive. States that receive more rainfall and precipitation logically have lower water usage,"
That means someone living in Memphis, which gets 55 inches of rain per year, can take that leisurely soak in a big tub each day because they don't have to use any water on their yard or gardens.
In contrast, a homeowner in Delta, Utah, might have to get by on a five-minute shower once a week if he wants to have a beautiful bluegrass lawn or to grow a few tomatoes. Delta only gets 8 inches of precipitation each year – roughly half that of Salt Lake City, according to CurrentResults.
Getting back to that data about which states have the highest per capita water use, after Idaho and Utah, the next highest are; Wyoming, 156 gallons; Arizona, 145 gallons; Hawaii, 144 gallons; Nevada, 126 gallons; and Colorado, 123 gallons.
Of those top water-using states, the only one not in the Intermountain West is Hawaii, which is usually viewed as a tropical paradise. But in spite of its perception as a tropical jungle, much of Hawaii is quite dry. Honolulu, for example, gets just 16.4 inches of annual rainfall – less than Logan (19 inches), Ogden (18.8 inches) or Provo (17.2 inches).
Utah's unique water history
When pioneer settlers arrived in Utah in 1844, one of their first tasks was to dig ditches and canals to bring water from City Creek to newly dug and planted fields. At that time, growing food was much more important than having a manicured lawn.
It should be noted that these people knew little about irrigation because they were primarily coming from the Eastern U.S. and Europe – places where adequate rainfall ensured that no one ever needed to use a hose to water their crops.
They learned to irrigate by trial and error. And within a few years, it was already apparent that the available water supply would not meet the needs of the population unless it was carefully managed.
An article about pioneer irrigation in the Utah History Encyclopedia notes that in 1865 "The territorial legislature granted individual irrigators the authority to organize themselves into irrigation districts. Districts then had the power to levy water or canal assessments on their members for the operation and maintenance of their canals. Two years later, irrigation districts were granted the power to form irrigation companies."
Before electricity or natural gas, water companies were Utah's first and most important public utilities. "During pioneer times, at one of the first public meetings held in a valley a watermaster was appointed to oversee the distribution of water," the Utah History Encyclopedia says.
A leading role in water management
Rather than the wasteful water use some imagine, Utah instead played a key role in the development and allocation of water resources.
In a 1997 speech about Utah's water legacy, LeRoy W. Hooton Jr. who was Salt Lake City's public services director for 28 years said: "If it were not for irrigation, they [the pioneers] would have failed in their attempt to settle the Salt Lake valley … Their efforts established water laws and agricultural practices that others would copy. The Mormon experience would be later emulated by the federal government's reclamation program."
In fact, Utah's early efforts at water management were so successful they created water abundance. By 1892, Utah had more than 1,000 miles of irrigation ditches and canals and more than 500,000 acres of irrigated agricultural land.
By the early 1900s, Utah water stewardship was so effective that in addition to being able to provide food for its population, there was enough water for beautiful public parks and landscaping and for residents to maintain manicured lawns and gardens not typically found in desert areas.
In 1924, farmers in Weber County reached an agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to develop the Weber River. The Utah History Encyclopedia reports, ""The Weber River Project was the first in the country to serve as an entirely multipurpose project, including recreation, municipal and industrial use, fish and wildlife, flood control, and irrigation programs."
Taking the next step
In recent years, Utah experienced unprecedented growth coinciding with what one study called the worst mega-drought in the Western U.S. in 1,200 years. In 2022, a report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute showed Utah's population grew by more than 61,000 in a single year, the majority of which came from net migration.
The dramatic growth has occurred even though Utah has not seen any major new dams built since southern Utah's Sand Hollow in 2002 and northern Utah's Jordanelle in 1993. In other words, the water needed by hundreds of thousands of new Utah residents has been dependent on and accommodated by earlier water projects from water managers with the foresight to conserve the state's limited water resources.
In 2022 in cooperation with several state agencies, Gov. Spencer Cox released Utah's Coordinated Action Plan for Water. In the past three years the Utah State Legislature has approved a number of measures to help mitigate the impact of drought while signaling that more needs to be done.
In addition, for several years organizations like Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and others have encouraged Utah homeowners to improve their own water management through programs like Localscapes.
By everyone taking an active part in water conservation, current Utah residents can ensure that the state's most precious natural resource will still be sufficient for its future needs.
14 unique baby names that can only be from Utah
Utahns place a strong focus on families, and many parents want their children to stand out with a special name. Here are 14 baby names that just scream "Utah."Siegfried & Jensen
Since 1990, Siegfried & Jensen have been helping the people of Utah and surrounding states who have suffered needless injuries and death caused by car accidents, truck accidents, medical malpractice, defective drugs, dog bites, wrongful death, and other types of personal injury.
The firm is committed to keeping Utah families and communities safe by ensuring wrongdoers are held accountable. While a lawsuit isn't always the answer when it is needed having someone on your side can mean the difference between declaring bankruptcy and rebuilding your life and moving forward, especially when you're up against an insurance company or a hospital.
Siegfried & Jensen has represented more than 35,000 clients and recovered over $1.2 billion for them.
