We live in a desert, and we have experienced drought in 22 of the past 25 years; living with droughts is our norm. Utah residents use an average of 167 gallons per day. Colorado residents use an average of 111. That’s 34% less water per day per household in a state with a climate very similar to ours; the residents of Colorado have adapted well to living in drought conditions.
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Driving through our more upscale neighborhoods most of the big yards are lush green. Then drive through more modest neighborhoods and you see many brown yards or yards with yellow and brown areas (these are small yards).
With drought as a way of life and the Great Salt Lake at a tipping point, what lessons do we want to teach our children regarding safeguarding our increasingly limited water? After all, they will continue to live here with chronic and severe water challenges. Considering this situation, we should ask ourselves what lessons we can teach our children regarding civic-minded water management?
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There are easy things we can do to teach our kids to be part of a solution. There are a number of credible ideas and resources, including watering deeply and infrequently, and watering your backyard less. We can also let our grass grow taller to shade the soil and reduce evaporation. And most importantly, view a less-than-perfect yard as a way to tell your kids that water is important to their futures.
We are a growing state with increasing water demands. This is a great place to live, let’s keep it this way and teach our kids that responsible water usage is a civic duty.
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Andrew Watt,
Sandy