Lack of snow has officials worried
Utah is entering its fourth year of drought.
Kevin Hansen, Logan Public Works director, said the lack of moisture in the state and in Cache Valley in the last few years has brought the community to a water shortage concern.
“We are concerned that the drought will get more severe,” Hansen said. “We live in a desert, and we need to change our lifestyle. We have a high level of confidence that the water we get from our wells will be ample for culinary purposes, but surface runoff is where the main concern is.”
The main concern comes in the summertime, when people might start using surface water to keep their lawns green instead of using ditches and irrigation.
“When surface runoff goes down because of the lack of snow, people will use their culinary water to water their lawns, and then we could run out. That is where we are getting worried,” Hansen said.
Clair Marler, water quality technician for Utah State University, said, “We buy a big share of our water from the Logan City well, and then we also have a reservoir in Dewitt Springs.”
“Last year [the water supply] held up good, but this year what will happen is anyone’s guess,” Marler said.
The students need to start now learning how to conserve water, he said.
“It is good practice to be as careful around your household as possible. Students can take shorter showers, report leaks around campus right away. Anything to save a little bit, especially for the summer, is good,” Marler said.
The water rates are not being raised anytime soon, but city and state officials are planning for the future.
“The state is encouraging a water-weight structure to encourage people to conserve,” Marler said. “If you are going to get money from the state to improve, that is the criteria.”
Hansen said the city is planning on holding a study on water rates to see how people are using their water.
Marler, also a farmer in Lewiston, said he is really hoping for moisture for irrigation purposes.
“I have never seen this many dry years in a row, and I am 50 years old,” he said.
Marler wants people to realize how inexpensive water is but also how important it is to survival.
“My water bill is a joke compared to the other bills, and if I didn’t have water, my house would be unable to run. That is the most important bill I pay,” he said. “Basically, the only charge for water is the delivery fee. There are no profit margins in the delivery of water. The only thing cheaper than water is the air we breathe, and that is what makes it hard on the conservation of water.”
For avid skiers, the water shortage has been brutal.
Fran Hopkin, a junior speech communications major, said, “It has been so long since we have had a good snow year that I have forgotten what powder even looks like.”
The flight students, on the other hand, are enjoying the nice weather.
Tyler Tew, a sophomore flight technology major, said, “The weather is nice to fly in, but it is not worth the drought.”
–stacipete@cc.usu.edu