Central Utah Water Conservancy District's Water Conservation Credit Program The Central Utah Project Completion Act requires the Central Utah Water Conservancy District to prepare a Water Management Improvement Plan. This Plan includes the establishment of a district-wide water conservation goal and the establishment of a Water Conservation Credit Program. In 1995, the district implemented this credit program, fulfilling the conditions of the Act that require the district to develop a continuous process for the identification, evaluation and implementation of water conservation measures. The water conservation credit program is the mechanism by which the district allocates $50 million in federal funds for the implementation of conservation measures. This money is distributed to projects that meet certain criteria including a requirement of a 35 percent cost share from local sources. Originally, the Act required a savings of 30,000 acre-feet of water per year, but after detailed study the district decided a goal to conserve a total of 49,622 acre-feet of water per year by the year 2013 was appropriate. As of June 2000, 108 applications for funding have been received with 36 approved for funding and in various stages of construction. Current annual conservation totals 18,600 acre-feet per year, with an anticipated total conservation of 68,500 acre-feet per year. The credit program is exceeding expectations, clearly indicating the likelihood of water conservation success elsewhere in the state if funding is made available. (Source: Central Utah Water Conservancy District)

Utah's Water Conservation Goal

The goal of the state is to conserve water wherever possible. Because most new water demands will be the result of an increasing population, the state has developed a specific goal to conserve water use directly linked to population growth. This goal is to reduce per capita water demand from public community systems by 12.5 percent by 2020 and a total of 25 percent before the year 2050. This is equivalent to a total decrease in demand of about 400,000 acre-feet per year by the year 2050.

Figure 10 illustrates the important role that 25 percent conservation can play in reducing M&I water demands throughout Utah by the year 2050. For example, without water conservation, it is estimated that the Jordan River Basin would experience an increase above current demand of about 320,000 acre-feet per year by 2050. With conservation, this increase is cut nearly in half. The figure also shows that most basins still have a fairly large gap, representing additional needed water supply, even after conservation. Although it may be possible to achieve more than 25 percent conservation, it is likely that most of these additional needs will be met by a combination of agricultural water conversions, improved management of existing supply and water development.

Water Conservation Plans

In 1998 and 1999, the Utah Legislature passed and revised the Water Conservation Plan Act. This act requires conservancy districts and water retailers with more than 500 connections to prepare a water conservation plan and submit it to the Division of Water Resources. This requirement covers systems that service about 93 percent of Utah's population. As of June 2001, 99 out of 150 water retailers and conservancy districts who were supposed to submit plans have done so. These plans are to be updated and resubmitted every five years. State water funding boards have further stipulated that a plan must be in place prior to any funds being awarded. The legislation also directs the Board of Water Resources to study ways to implement the plans, develop recommendations on implementation, and report to the Legislature.¹

This legislation has given water conservation increased emphasis to many water providers as well as significant media coverage throughout the state, and has created a foundation upon which the state can build a successful water conservation framework. This framework took initial shape in the recommendations that the Board of Water Resources made to the Legislature in November 1999. Some of these recommendations are summarized below:²

• Educate the public on the importance of using Utah's water resources more efficiently. This includes providing adult education opportunities to teach homeowners and landscape contractors how to design and care for water-efficient landscapes and disseminating information through the media on weather factors affecting lawn and garden water use.
• Provide programs for training and licensing landscape and irrigation contractors and managers to assure that large urban irrigation systems are properly installed and operated.
• Provide incentives for more efficient water use by using a volume rate structure with discounts for efficient use as well as penalty charges for water wasted. Such a rate structure should be supported by trained staff and appropriate tools to assist water wasters in reducing use.

  	Water bills should contain detailed information about actual water use and other educational materials that promote efficiency.

• Encourage monthly meter reading and billing by all water retail providers. Water bills should have an education component that assists consumers in reducing their use.
• Support existing water audit programs and encourage more active participation in such programs. This involves providing state support to train and test irrigation water auditors and collecting data to track the effectiveness of such programs.
• Encourage water conservancy districts and water retailers to fund rebates to encourage replacement of old, high-flow toilets and other high water use appliances in the home.
• Study the feasibility of tax incentives for water intensive industries and businesses as well as homeowners, for finding ways to improve water use efficiency.

Funding for research and implementation of local water conservation programs and measures is needed to complement the requirements of the water conservation plans. Accurate and reliable results of water conservation measures in Utah need to be collected in order to determine those measures that will most likely produce positive results. This will encourage a broader acceptance of water conservation by local decision-makers and allow for a better allocation of resources to achieve water conservation goals.

Baseline Water Use Rates

One data need that is critical for a water provider to monitor the success of water conservation measures is the determination of an accurate baseline water use. This typically includes all M&I uses except for self-supplied industries, private domestic, and other non-community systems. This baseline is usually expressed as gallons per capita per day (gpcd).

The Division of Water Resources has determined the total per capita water use of all public water supplies, including secondary water, to be approximately 321 gpcd. Only Nevada (the driest state in the U.S.) uses more water per capita. While Utah's relatively high per capita water use is often compared to the national average of approximately 179 gpcd, a more appropriate comparison would be against other Rocky Mountain states. This average is approximately 245 gpcd.³