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Staff outline 'Growing Water Smart' plan to add water element to Plan Salt Lake and analyze development water use
Summary
Planning and public utilities staff presented an initial 'Growing Water Smart' briefing describing state requirements to add a water element to the general plan, early data analysis on water use by land‑use and lot characteristics, and a schedule for public engagement and adoption later in the year.
Salt Lake City planning staff briefed the Planning Commission on the city’s Growing Water Smart effort, a process to add a required water element to the general plan and to better link land‑use planning with water planning, staff said.
A planning staff presenter described the statutory requirement and the city’s approach: “this is a requirement to link land use planning and water planning,” the presenter said, adding the city must adopt the water element by the end of the year. Holly Lopez of Public Utilities attended and staff said Public Utilities will be a principal partner because the utility provides water service for much of the eastern portion of the valley and coordinates across multiple jurisdictions.
Staff said the water element must assess how development affects water demand and infrastructure, set water policies the city can implement, specify low‑water‑use landscaping and consider regional conservation goals. Staff also identified additional options the city may consider — for example, regulating evaporative open water sources (ponds and pools), setting water budgets for certain development types, requiring that new development demonstrate available water capacity, and modifying lot‑size and landscaping standards to reduce outdoor water use.
Presentation slides and staff remarks summarized data analysis from the city’s water master plan and recent audits of land‑use plans. Key findings discussed included: - Citywide per‑capita water use has declined in recent years, a trend staff said is encouraging. - Lot size and lot width show a positive relationship with water use: larger and wider lots generally used more water, primarily from outdoor irrigation. - The relationship between density and water consumption varied by project size; staff said they sampled roughly 50 projects per category to create comparable groupings (for example, 10–25 units, 25–50 units, etc.). Some categories showed unexpected spikes in consumption during 2021–24 that staff said warrant further analysis. - Mixed‑use and primarily residential multifamily projects showed patterns that staff linked to increased time spent at home during the pandemic, followed by declines as work patterns changed.
Commissioners asked how this analysis could be embedded into project review. One commissioner suggested Public Utilities provide standardized water‑capacity evaluations that could be appended to staff reports so commissioners and the public can see how projects align with utility capacity. A commissioner with homeowners‑association experience raised concerns about multifamily metering and requested research on best practices for individual metering and incentives for water‑wise landscaping in multifamily settings; staff said they would follow up with more information and share findings with utility and sustainability partners.
Staff said the data analysis is near completion and the next steps include interdepartmental review, public engagement in May–June and an adoption schedule from July through December with Planning Commission recommendation followed by City Council consideration. No formal commission action was taken; the item was a briefing to inform future policy and code updates.
