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Richard Piatt reportingWater conservation is once again capturing the attention of civic leaders across the state. Thursday, a major effort began to get every city in Salt Lake county on the same page when it comes to saving water.
Critics say it's taken five years too long to happen: After a drought that's lasted that long, cities in Salt Lake County are talking about how to encourage conservation together.
We're talking about getting onto the same page. An effort to stop confusion to help preserve the resource that water is. It's an attempt to make water-waving policies consistent from city-to-city. Things like when to water, when not to, how often; encouraging desert-friendly landscaping. Consistent guidelines are a first step to meaningful conservation in the long run.
Zach Frankel/Utah Rivers Council - "WE REALLY SHOULD HAVE PUT THIS FORUM TOGETHER FIVE YEARS AGO WHEN THE DROUGHT WAS BEGINNING. BECAUSE WE REALLY WOULD HAVE SAVED MORE WATER, AND OUR RESERVOIRS WOULD BE A LOT HIGHER IF WE DID."
Lawn watering consumes about two-thirds of the water use in the summer, according to water conservation experts. Still, coming together on saving water is a big step---communities usually like to make such decisions for themselves.
City leaders will take these ideas to their city councils for consideration and come back in a month. One thing they're not trying to do is establish a kind of 'water police' meant to punish people.
