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Salt Lake City Issues Water Usage Advisory

Anton via Wikimedia Commons

Salt Lake City officials are calling for a stage one water usage advisory in the wake of a dry winter that has produced little spring runoff.

Laura Briefer is Salt Lake City’s water resources manager. She says the city’s current water supply is about 90 percent of normal, but stream flows are much lower than average. Briefer says city residents should be aware of the dry outlook for the summer and begin watching their water usage now.

"This first stage is just advisory," she says,  "but it’s just putting the community on alert that we have low snow pack and low stream flow conditions."

Briefer recommends checking indoor and outdoor pipes for leaks and getting a free sprinkler efficiency check. She says the city it is prepared to use water stored in reservoirs to offset further water shortages, but there is a limit to how much water they will take from storage.

"We have a goal this year to not draw down the reservoirs beyond a certain point because if we have another drought year next year we want to make sure to have adequate storage to meet demand in the following year," says Briefer. 

Salt Lake City public utilities serves water to the city as well as Cottonwood Heights, Holladay, Millcreek and portions of Murray and South Salt Lake. 

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