SALT LAKE CITY — Utah remains one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, and its capital city is no exception.
It was the fastest-growing city between 2023 and 2024, which continues to push its population to new boundaries, according to both the Utah Population Committee and the U.S. Census Bureau. Its estimated population by mid-2024 was a 9% increase from its last official count of 199,723 in 2020, surging past 200,000 people for the first time in its history over the past few years.
But it's also not immune to water scarcity concerns that exist elsewhere in the state, especially as drought has returned.
That's why Salt Lake City had already started considering water needs in planning, but the city is now a step closer to matching the planning standards required by the state. The Salt Lake City Planning Commission voted last week to recommend applying a key city water management plan to its wider general plan to meet a Dec. 31 deadline.
The new law calls on municipal and county legislative bodies in communities with over 10,000 residents to outline goals for reducing existing and future per capita water use, while exploring ways to reduce the local government's own use, among other objectives.
Salt Lake City's plan features six "key components" that help the city consider water needs as it plans out growth, explained city planner Michaela Bell as she presented it to the planning commission. These include methods to reduce water consumption per capita, opportunities to reduce water consumption in city operations, and the consideration of the city's existing water conservation plans.
The city was already doing what the new law requires through a supply and demand management plan, and a water conservation plan, because planning for water supply risks and water demand trends is regularly conducted to meet the "statutory requirement for the management of the city's water rights," said Laura Briefer, director of Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities.
"It's also used to identify any risks or vulnerabilities with our water supplies and trends with our water demands, as tightly as possible. (to) project out into the future what our land use and water demands are going to look like, and whether the supply can meet that demand," she explained.
These reports, she said, are adjusted frequently to account for changes in either supply or demand. The last change came in 2022, accounting for water needs associated with the Utah State Prison and many new warehouses in the Northwest Quadrant. It was approved as the city was in the middle of an exceptional drought that tested parts of the city's water shortage plan.
The city is also in the process of updating its water plans again to account for the Great Salt Lake, mapping out how to get more water to it as it dries up. The city is exploring ways to improve irrigation on city-owned lands, especially at its parks and golf courses, according to the city.
City planners, on the other hand, have looked into more sustainable landscaping in recent years, including several changes the city approved last year that all go into the general plan.
"There will probably be others that will come up, as far as zoning ordinance amendments," Bell said, adding that the regular updates ensure that "historical water use and our population projections are all being evaluated properly."
City residents like Cindy Cromer were appreciative that the Great Salt Lake would be considered in updates, but she urged the city to explore more graywater usage — a term for when water from items like sinks, bathtubs and washing machines is recycled for landscape irrigation. She also called for the implementation of water-efficient turf.
These are options that are being considered, Briefer said. Some Western cities have reused wastewater for irrigation, but the city has opted to discharge its recycled water to the Great Salt Lake to meet its needs. Plan Salt Lake, the city's general plan, also calls for more density that can help cut per capita water usage with fewer lawns.
"We know we're growing, and we're planning for growth. And I would agree that density helps us more efficiently grow with respect to water use," she said, adding that more still needs to be done to reduce outdoor water consumption.
The Salt Lake City Council will vote on the measure later this year before it is officially approved, meeting the state deadline.
Salt Lake City Public Utilities has also coordinated with neighboring cities as the deadline nears. It supplies water to large portions of eastern Salt Lake County south of the city, including large swaths of Millcreek and Cottonwood Heights.
Salt Lake City's plan will serve as a model for those other cities, so there's "consistency across the board" even with each city having different land use priorities, Briefer said.
