South Jordan council backs tiered drought-response for parks, spares splash pads for now

Mayor Dawn Ramsey and the South Jordan City Council voted to move forward with a tiered drought-response plan for city parks and open space after a presentation by Colby Hill, the city's associate director of public works.

Hill told the council the plan, drafted in December and now recommended because of current dry conditions and a Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District request to reduce water use, divides city properties into four tiers. "Our top tier protects our trees," Hill said, adding the city maintains about 8,900 trees with an appraised value of roughly $13.5 million. "We define that as trees and athletic fields. Tier 2 is high-use turf and gathering spaces; Tier 3 is low-use turf; Tier 4 are park strips, natural and undeveloped open space."

Under the recommendation, athletic fields would be irrigated to about 70—60% of evapotranspiration (ET) values (Hill described a 70—60to—690% ET band for active recreation), tier 3 nonessential turf would be held at roughly 50—60to—660% ET (enough to keep plants alive), and tier 4 open space would be aggressively reduced to 20—60to—630% ET with fire-hazard mitigation where needed. Hill said the city expects "some brown spots" and summer dormancy but believes the approach will preserve what is most difficult or costly to replace.

Hill described operational steps including shifting some staff to hand-irrigate trees, use of a central irrigation-control system, weekly briefings among public-works staff to track weather and soil conditions, and park signs and a dedicated Water Smart SoJo web page (watersmartsojo.org) to keep residents informed. He also noted a possible 25% surcharge from Jordan Valley Water if city use exceeds 110% of contracted volume under the district's Level 2 guidance.

Council members pressed Hill on practical impacts. Council member McGuire raised fire-mitigation concerns for hillside and open-space parks; Hill replied the draft plan calls for mowing those areas two to three times a year and coordination with the fire department. Multiple council members and staff recommended collecting splash-pad attendance data before making final scheduling cuts; several members said splash pads are often the only free cooling option for families and can concentrate water use. "Let's not limit the splash pads just yet," one council member said; the council settled on a compromise to keep splash-pad schedules in place while immediately turning off large, continuous decorative water features (for example at the Public Safety building and the cemetery) and monitoring water use.

Mayor Ramsey asked staff to add signage and the city's helpline number to park notices and to return updates as conditions change. Hill said some athletic fields may be converted to artificial turf in future planning as a longer-term water-reduction measure. Staff will implement the tiered plan immediately and report back to council on monitoring and any changes recommended by Jordan Valley Water, state guidance, or county direction.

The council's action was supportive rather than a formal vote on a binding ordinance; staff received direction to proceed with the recommended operational plan, prioritize trees and fields, continue outreach to residents, and hold off on closing splash pads until additional data are available.