Water is the essence of life. It provides us with joy, health, food, economic opportunities, adventures, breathtaking landscapes, power generation, laughter and memories, and because it makes up two-thirds of our bodies, it makes it so you can be here, visiting our website (and on the earth)!
Our population is projected to double by 2065, so stretching our water supply is critical. Traditionally, two-thirds of Utah’s growth has been from “natural increase” from the population having children. This percentage is declining with more people moving in. People have discovered Utah is a great place to live, work and play. Unfortunately, they don’t bring water with them. Conservation is key to ensuring we have water now and for future generations.
It is vitally important we work together to protect and improve our watershed and improve fire management practices to improve our water availability and quality. Active forest management helps to improve watersheds, reduce wildfires, and provides water to citizens. When forest are overgrown and not adequately managed, the impacts are widespread and impactful as shown through poor air quality, the destruction of wildlife habitat, erosion on fire scars, and damage to downstream infrastructure and users. For example, the Dollar Ridge Fire was nearly 70,000 acres is size and caused more than $30 million in damage to infrastructure while reducing the water available to many Utahns. The Watershed Restoration Initiative, in partnership with other stakeholders is working to restore this area, but it will take decades to restore completely (Restoration Efforts: Year 1 and Year 2).
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