The conservation garden at the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District shows how a garden can use minimal water, and not look like a desert.
“Nowhere in here can you see much gravel or cactus,” said Tage Flint, manager at the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District. “What you see is a lot of greenery, a lot of foliage. [It’s] one of the examples of what you can have and still use a whole lot less water.”
An important lesson for Utahns, because 67-70% of all water taken from reservoirs are used to water lawns and gardens. When you factor in the heat,
“Our reservoirs have gone down amazingly fast,” said
“We're in a drought, officially,” said Brian McInerney, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in
While the heat has Utahns using more water on their lawns, the real problem is in the mountains.
“When we talk about drought, the big question is how did you do with multiple years of spring snowmelt,” said McInerney
That question is crucial because 90% of the reservoirs are filled by snowmelt, and the last two years.
“It's the multi-year droughts that really hurt us,” said
“You can have a below average year and still not be in a drought,” said McInerney. “But if you put together 2, 3, 4 years and beyond, that drought category looks worse and worse.”
There is some good news: the rain in southwest
“All together, southern
But all eyes are on next year.
“We're there, as far as being worried about next year,” said
The weather this winter and spring will be crucial to getting us back to normal levels. If 2014 is anything like the last 2 years,
For more information on conserving water visit: http://weberbasin.com/