Utah water watchers are reminding Wasatch Front residents that October 1st is the time of year to stop watering lawns and gardens. Randy Julander is the snow survey supervisor for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He says while local canyon creeks continue to be a good source of drinking water, every drop of irrigation water saved now helps boost reservoir levels for next year.
“Jordanelle, Deer Creek, Strawberry, on the Weber system, Echo, Rockport, Smith and Morehouse, Willard Bay; all of those kinds of things and those will be physically shut off,” says Julander.
Joshua Palmer is a spokesman for the Utah Division of Water Resources. He says besides the obvious conservation benefit, shutting off the sprinklers actually promotes a healthier lawn.
“Right now is a great time to let those roots dig deep for water and so that they can have a healthy root system for next year,” says Palmer.
He says the angle of the sun in the fall makes evaporation less of a factor as well. Palmer suggests visiting a local conservation garden and following the Division on Facebook. October 1st is also typically the date many municipalities shut down their secondary water systems.
