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City staff warns of long-term aquifer decline, urges regional conservation and recharge studies
Summary
City staff told the North Salt Lake City Council that aquifer levels have trended downward since the 1950s and urged cooperative regional action: reduce withdrawals, study recharge sites, and pursue reuse and percolation options to meet conservation goals.
City staffer Karen presented the council with North Salt Lake's long-range water planning update, saying the city's 2024 water use came roughly 47% from city wells and 53% from Weber Basin wholesale purchases and that residential uses represented about 57% of combined culinary and secondary demand. "We can't get more water out of the aquifer than is there," Karen said, emphasizing limits on developing new local sources and the importance of regional cooperation.
Karen walked the council through demand projections to 2060, regional conservation targets (Davis County goal 200 gallons per capita per day) and the difference between culinary and secondary water supplies, and she described InSAR satellite data showing localized ground subsidence tied to declining groundwater levels. She urged the council to support a regional recharge study and to explore options such as reuse of treated discharge for irrigation and targeted on-site percolation, noting that "there is just no more water" available from Weber Basin for future wholesale purchases. Council members asked about water-right constraints, penalties for missing conservation goals, and whether recharge could be incorporated into specific road or stormwater projects; staff recommended studying recharge locations and continuing cooperative work with neighboring jurisdictions.
