Integrated-plan report recommends water budgets, turf replacement and tiered rates to cut depletion in Great Salt Lake Basin

Staff presented the M&I (municipal and industrial) conservation-opportunities component of the Great Salt Lake Basin integrated plan, a consultant report completed in August by Jacobs and Hansen, Allen & Luce.

Shelby Cooley summarized the study’s central findings: develop basin-scale water budgets that balance supply, demand and depletion; pursue landscape conversions targeted at nonfunctional turf and tax-exempt land; adopt allotment-based tiered rate structures and efficiency programs (rebates and education); and promote regional collaboration to reduce obstacles to conservation and consider regional depletion budgets. Cooley said indoor water use returns to the system at higher rates than outdoor turf use, which tends to be depleted by evaporation; the report focuses on depletion that does not return to the natural system.

The report includes depletion-reduction estimates and cost notes for several conservation strategies and suggests prioritizing nonfunctional turf (park strips and tax-exempt property) for replacement programs. Staff distributed a two-page legislative brief and full appendices online and invited board members to consult the technical appendices for methodology and cost assumptions.

Board members asked clarifying questions about the definition of tax-exempt parcels and next steps; staff said tax-exempt parcels include churches and government property and encouraged continued analysis and possible legislative actions to support regional depletion budgets.