Welcome to the event schedule and directory for the 16th Annual Salt Lake County Watershed Symposium, November 16-17, 2022. Free and open to all, the Symposium encourages a comprehensive review of the current state of our watershed.
Sign up or log in to bookmark your favorites and sync them to your phone or calendar.
Granger-Hunter Improvement District, in times of extreme drought, may find it’s water supply cut. The District’s customers have responded with significant water use reductions, but in order to have a resilient supply, groundwater sources with higher levels of manganese and iron will need to be developed.
Granger-Hunter Improvement District serves West Valley City, the second largest city in Utah. Most of the District’s water comes from the Wasatch Mountains, and with Utah in a prolonged drought, surface water supplies are being impacted. District customers have conserved incredible amounts of water, mostly by reducing outdoor irrigation, but with future supplies of surface water at risk, the District has embarked on a multi-year program to develop and improve groundwater in the Salt Lake Valley. The District relies on a water wholesaler for approximately 75% of its water supply. In times of extreme drought, it is possible that supply could be cut by as much as 30%, leading to potential shortages. While District customers have reduced consumption by over 15% in the last couple of years, higher-density future growth will require a drought-resistant high-quality supply. Additional challenges include revenue shortfalls due to increased conservation, conservation-oriented rate design, and a shrinking Great Salt Lake that is directly impacted by increased outdoor water use and reduced snowfall. In order to develop groundwater for a drought-resistant supply, higher levels of iron and manganese must be removed. One treatment plant is under construction with two additional plants planned, but the cost of construction is substantial and additional funding sources, including SRF and WaterSMART grants, are being explored with some success. There is also risk of overdrawing groundwater surface water sources are also reduced to neighboring communities. The long-term plan is to encourage appropriate outdoor water use with tiered rates, and to develop reliable, clean groundwater sources if the drought continues. This session will discuss the Utah drought and the challenges that a reduced water supply will bring to residents of West Valley City, Utah, the second largest city in Utah. Future planning challenges include reduced consumption (and revenue) due to drought messaging, fixed wholesale water contracts, and higher-density growth. To plan for potential shortages, Granger-Hunter Improvement District has embarked on a long-term plan to develop and treat groundwater impacted by iron and manganese. The District has also pursued SRF loans and grants in order to reduce the cost burden on its customers.
