Latest news with #LauraBriefer
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Salt Lake City faces soaring water demand and officials urge conservation as summer nears
SALT LAKE CITY () — The Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities is seeing a sharp rise in water demand and officials are urging people to conserve especially as summer approaches. Watering our lawns is costing us. 'It is a little bit worrying that it was so early in the season,' Laura Briefer, Director of Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities, said. Water use across the Salt Lake City water system is up 5% from the last three years and outdoor watering is up 10%. 'Usually, we would see the type of water demand on this kind of system that we're seeing right now in the middle of July, and that's when it becomes a lot warmer and people are watering a lot more,' Briefer said. Salt Lake's system serves nearly 400,000 people in the city and nearby areas like Millcreek, Holladay, and Cottonwood Heights. Even though the snowpack was average this year, Briefer said, 'The runoff we have experienced from that snowpack is less than average so it's less efficient.' Carp chaos at Utah Lake as carp overpopulation becomes serious problem Traditional grass lawns aren't efficient either. They are part of the problem. 'It uses a high amount of water and most people in Utah overwater their lawn already, so we are using an excessive amount of water on our landscape,' Heidi King, Water Conservation Coordinator for the Department of Natural Resources said. While some people rip out the grass and replace it with rock and stone, King said, 'It does increase the ambient temperatures in surrounding areas, and what happens is there's an increase in evaporation in our waterways as well as a higher evapotranspiration rate in the nearby plants, so those plants need more water to sustain themselves.' Instead, King recommends a concept called 'local scaping.' It is an idea that originated in Utah, focusing on landscaping with native plants instead of turf. 'It's designed so that it looks sharp and clean. It's not used in excess space, instead, we use waterwise plants like what's behind me in place of all that extra grass, and it uses a lot less water up to 70% less water,' King said, gesturing to the plants behind her. City officials don't discourage grass but urge you to use it only where it makes sense. Salt Lake City faces soaring water demand and officials urge conservation as summer nears Salt Lake City Police Department uncovers suspicious activity at five massage businesses in Ballpark neighborhood Dangers of leaving children in hot cars and the law that protects good Samaritans Catholic Community Services calls for unity following 'hate crime' at Salt Lake City mosque Utah man pleads guilty to attempting to hire hitman while behind bars in 2020 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Water usage is trending high in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake Public Utilities says
SALT LAKE CITY () — As Utah begins to reach the dog days of summer, when temperatures are at their hottest, the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU) is reporting that water demand is rising. On Thursday, SLCDPU said the water demand over the past few weeks has been trending higher when compared to the average water demand during the same time period over the last three years. 'To date, total water use has increased five percent, with outdoor water use up 10 percent,' said Laura Briefer, SLCDPU director. 'Though snowpack in our area was average this year and our reservoirs are full right now, overall runoff is lower than expected and much of the state is projecting drought conditions.' Utah's snowpack has been trending downward since the record-breaking year in the 2022-23 winter season. In 2024, the snowwater equivalent peaked at 18.8 inches compared to 2023's 30 inches. shows that the 2025 year peaked only at 14.4 inches. Carp chaos at Utah Lake as carp overpopulation becomes serious problem Since the start of the calendar year, drought conditions have been across the state. Only 4.5% of Utah has no drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, down from 11.78% at the start of the year. Over 95% of the state is experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions, and 44% of Utah is in severe drought. 'It is important that our community members continue to focus on water conservation given these factors and the potential for drought conditions to worsen,' said Breifer. The majority of Utahns per week, as of the most recent entry in the Utah Division of Water Resources' weekly watering guide. The Division of Water Resources said lawns can sustain a large amount of overwatering before any negative consequences like disease, weeds and insect pests become apparent. 'Because of this, it's typically overwatered,' DWR said. 'One way to conserve water and maintain plant health is to avoid overwatering.' BYU geologist studies shrapnel remains from WWII buried in the sands of Normandy The weekly watering guide, which is typically updated every Thursday, assumes you use only half an inch of water per watering event. But every system is different. For the most accurate run time and for your watering system, DWR recommends getting , available in Salt Lake City, Sandy, Millcreek, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Iron County and San Juan County. For those where the free water check is not available, on how to complete your own water check. The Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities said there are many different ways for homeowners, property owners and businesses to lessen their demand on water. These range from landscape rebates to low-water grass seeds and irrigation controllers to toilets. To learn more, you can visit the or GOP blocks Democratic effort to combat Pentagon renaming of USNS Harvey Milk President Trump rolls out new travel ban Congressional Hispanic Caucus condemns travel ban Trump threatens to cut 'crazy' Musk's government contracts Woman allegedly leaves infant in hot car for nearly two hours in South Salt Lake Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Salt Lake City accepts $2.2M grant in pursuit to preserve 200 acres of Great Salt Lake wetlands
Utah's capital city officially received a financial boost as it seeks to preserve 200 acres of wetlands by the shores of its namesake. Salt Lake City added a nearly $2.23 million grant from the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust to its budget as one of the many items in a $21.9 million budget amendment that members of the Salt Lake City Council approved Tuesday night. The trust awarded the grant to the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities in 2023, and Tuesday's measure was more of an accounting item to include it in the budget, said Laura Briefer, the department's director. It was awarded to Salt Lake City, along with seven other projects that received a total of $8.5 million. All eight projects aim to "protect and enhance" more than 13,000 acres of the Great Salt Lake's wetlands. Salt Lake City is seeking to acquire 200 acres of private commercial land near the Rudy Drain, a section of the lake's wetlands near Salt Lake City International Airport, as well as duck hunting club land and Farmington Bay in Davis County. The land is owned by Scannell, one of the many entities that have built warehouses across the city's growing Northwest Quadrant. "It's part of a broader goal to protect the wetlands along the Great Salt Lake shoreline within Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County," Briefer told The grant is expected to cover about one-third of the project cost. The remaining cost — projected by the trust to be about $4.47 million — is yet to be figured out, but Briefer said the city could receive about another $2.5 million from the Utah Inland Port Authority. Both external financial sources are contingent on a land agreement being reached, which — in the grant's case — must be reached by the end of 2026. The ultimate goal is that a future conservation easement is placed on the land to protect it from development as more buildings creep into the wetlands. If successful, the project would include new trails linking to regional trail systems, such as the Jordan River Parkway Trail. "Large land preservation projects can be really complex," Briefer said. "This is a very large and ambitious land preservation effort, so it does take time to sort out the nature of any kind of transaction and the future of the landscape." Salt Lake City reached an agreement with the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust late last year toward the goal. In a statement to Marcelle Shoop, executive director of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust and director of Audubon Society's Saline Lakes Program, said the group is looking forward to the project coming to fruition. "We are excited for this project that will conserve and restore wetlands and their important connections to sustaining Great Salt Lake's water flows and the essential habitat that birds and other wildlife depend on," she said. Salt Lake City also received $406,102 from the Utah Department of Transportation for new Capitol Hill bicycle lanes, as well as a $63,675 donation from the Utah Bar Foundation for a "mobile courtroom" to reach people at resource centers and other areas of need. While the city added some money to its budget, city leaders also voted to approve new expenditures. Those funds include new staff hires, as well as $150,000 for items like treatments for the city's struggling sycamore trees. Other notable spending items include: $3.9 million toward public infrastructure at the city's Fleet Block property. The money comes from an anticipated sale of a parcel as redevelopment on the project begins. $239,050 for an update to the city's Community Wildfire Protection Plan. $50,000 to double the size of the city's July 4 and Pioneer Day drone shows.
