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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Underlining the severity of Utah's drought, two 12-year olds and their dogs safely waded across Parleys Creek east of Tanner Park.
"They should have been sucked down, run through a culvert or two, chopped up and spit out," said Randy Julander, hydrologist for the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Utah streams normally treacherous at this time of year are placid, peaceful and depressing.
The Weber River is running at 39 percent of average, the Bear at 28 percent, the Virgin at 29 percent and the Sevier at 25.
The Duchesne is only 6 percent of normal.
During May, Utah's reservoirs usually gain about 300,000 acre-feet of water from the snowmelt.
This May, they gained just 7,900 acre-feet.
The storms late last week did little to alleviate the situation, but Tage Flint, manager of the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, said residents should take advantage of such storms to turning off their sprinkler systems for at least a week afterward.
A recent Utah State University study found that a rainstorm that dumps a half-inch of water will keep a lawn green for a week.
If every household adjusted its sprinklers to for the weather, each rainstorm could save the water district 5 percent of its summertime demand, Flint said.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
