Sandy residents respond to water conservation pleas

By Justin Adams | [email protected]

In the face of one of the worst droughts in years, city and state officials pleaded with Utahns to conserve water. And at least in Sandy, it seems like those pleas have been answered. 

During a recent city council meeting, Mayor Kurt Bradburn reported some very promising figures for water conservation.

According to the numbers, Sandy residents had used 4.7 billion gallons of water through that point in the year, down from 5.2 billion within the same time period last year. To put that in perspective, Bradburn said the Public Utilities Department informed him that’s equivalent to filling up Bell Canyon Reservoir 65 times. 

“We really appreciate our residents stepping up to the plate. It just has to continue now and we pray for the wettest winter ever,” Bradburn said. 

It also just so happens that the city is working on updating its water conservation plan. Per state statute, every city must have one, and update it every five years. 

“It’s serendipitous that we’re having a drought right when we’re updating our water conservation plans,” said Public Utilities Director Tom Ward.

To help update the plan, the city contracted with Bowen Collins & Associates, an engineering firm that also helped oversee the state’s conservation plan. 

With a final goal for adoption coming in December, Sandy residents will have the chance this fall to provide feedback about the plan.

One of the major elements of the draft plan is allocating money towards education efforts as well as rebates to help residents pursue more water-friendly landscaping. 

In the meantime, Sandy City has a number of resources available to help residents conserve water right now.

It contracts with a company called AquaHawk, which allows residents to sign up to receive alerts about their water usage.

The city also has a CityServe app where residents can report broken sprinkler heads or leaks on city property so they can be repaired as quickly as possible.