- Salt Lake City reinstates its water shortage plan due to low snowpack.
- Gov. Spencer Cox expects other Utah areas will follow with water restrictions soon.
- Utah's snowpack is critically low, threatening the state's water supply.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city is returning to its water shortage contingency plan amid the state's potentially record-low snowpack, and Gov. Spencer Cox anticipates others will take similar steps in the coming months.
Utah is still mulling potential drought declarations, but the governor said Thursday that he believes more local entities, which control water cutbacks, will take similar steps to what Salt Lake City is doing.
"I do anticipate that there will be restrictions through most of Utah when we get into the summer months," he said during his monthly briefing with Utah reporters.
A record-low peak?
Cox made those remarks as the state's already record-low snowpack starts to slide from this week's record warmth. The statewide snowpack average reached as high as 8.4 inches of snow water equivalent earlier this month, but over 15% of that has already melted, per Natural Resources Conservation Service data.
Thus, it has become increasingly possible that this will be the worst snowpack that Utah has collected since at least the 1980s. Snowmelt "will outpace any new snow the state might receive" if long-range forecasts come to fruition, Utah Division of Water Resources officials said. If that's the case, it would be just over half of the annual median average.
The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center released its April outlook on Thursday, which lists Utah as having some of the strongest odds for above-normal temperatures and below-average precipitation levels in the country.
Cox said he's still holding out hope for a strong spring, which has happened before. In 1981, the last time the snowpack was this low in mid-March, Utah received several storms that boosted its total snowpack by 50% before it peaked a week into April.
Snowpack accounts for about 95% of the state's water supply, which is why state and local leaders are anxiously tracking the situation. Cox said he will monitor the coming weeks and months and wait to see the state's final reservoir capacity before issuing any sort of declaration.
Utah's reservoir system is currently 68% full, which is slightly above the normal for this point in the year, but the state doesn't anticipate refilling all the way from this year's snowpack.
Past declarations have recommended that water supplies and irrigation companies take steps to improve water consumption efficiency. Cities and counties in drought-stricken areas were also encouraged to consider implementing water restriction plans.
Andrew Adams, KSLUtah leaders and water managers have been in contact with local entities as the state continues to review the situation.
"We are urging our communities and local water providers to review drought contingency plans," said Laura Haskell, drought coordinator at the Utah Division of Water Resources. "These plans will provide clarity and actions to assist with slowing the impacts of drought."
Salt Lake City returns to drought plan
Some cities are already taking steps. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall announced Thursday that Utah's most populous city has returned to the second level of its five-stage water shortage contingency plan.
It calls on residents, businesses and institutions in its service area, including Millcreek, Cottonwood Heights and other parts of eastern Salt Lake County, to voluntarily conserve indoor and outdoor water, while all local, county and state government facilities will be required to reduce their irrigation and indoor water use by at least 10%. It's the first time that the city is returning to the contingency plan since 2022.
Laura Briefer, director of the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, told KSL last week that she had requested the measure because of the region's poor snowpack and equally poor spring snowmelt outlook.
Her department owns the water rights to four creeks in the county, which account for about 50% to 60% of the city's supply. Yet, runoffs of those are projected to peak at between 29% and 76% of normal this summer. The city also relies heavily on Deer Creek Reservoir. It's in good shape at 86% full, but it may not receive much more before the irrigation season begins.
"The difference between this year and last year is stark. We have much lower snowpack and higher temperatures, and that has the potential to put real pressure on our water system," Briefer reiterated on Thursday, noting that the city's situation is one others are facing across Utah.
The goal of the contingency plan is to keep the city's water supply above demand, starting by cutting back on potential waste. The city hopes to reduce water use by 10 million gallons per day within its service area. That could be 30 gallons of water less per day for residents.
By implementing it now, it may help people enter a drought mindset again after water consumption increased again over the past two years.
"We shouldn't be watering outdoors yet, but ... when we do start watering, it's really important that we use less on our landscapes," Briefer said, adding that it would reduce water bills but also help keep water stored in reservoirs and send more water to the Great Salt Lake.
