Lehi City News
Lehi Braces for dry summer, water conservation urged
Nicole Coombs | Lehi Free Press
The state of Utah has a water problem, and that means Lehi has one, too.
“A drought is a natural disaster,” said Matt Dolton, water operations supervisor for Lehi City. “We’ve had dry years like this before. The biggest difference between this year and similar years is that, in the past, maybe we had a December, January, and February where we don’t get much snow, but then all of a sudden, in the middle of February, March, and April, we’ve had some good participation. So far, that’s not happening this year.”
March and April are typically very wet months, but March was dry, and the state has seen record-shattering heat this Spring.
“A lot of the snow that we have at the high elevations has melted,” said Dolton. “The snow that is coming off the mountains is weeks and months too early.”
The Lehi City water ordinance states that the irrigation season runs from April 15 to October 15. The irrigation ordinance refers to watering lawns and gardens. However, with record heat, Dalton says they’ve already seen an increase in water usage, and there’s little that can be done to stop it.
“The difference between us and cities like Pleasant Grove or American Fork is that our [irrigation and culinary] water is available 365 days a year,” said Dalton. “Our water mains are always full. Other cities won’t pressurize their irrigation systems until they are ready for residents to use it.”
Those neighboring cities have already notified residents that irrigation dates have been delayed to May 1 to help conserve water. The only way Lehi can stop residents from using water too early is through education. But water usage will surely change next year when the new water meter system is in use.
“We will introduce a tiered system,” said Dalton. “Everyone will be allotted a certain amount of water. If they use over that amount, they will pay a steeper price.”
Lehi residents currently pay a flat rate for water based on their lot size.
The system will help residents monitor their water usage and require those who use more to pay more. Both the culinary and irrigation water systems will be on the new metered system.
“I’ve been with Lehi City for 22 years,” said Dolton. “Nineteen of those years we’ve been in a drought of some kind. 2005, 2011 and 2023 were all great water years. The others have all been dry. But this year makes me more nervous than other drought years, so we all need to conserve.”
For updated information about Lehi’s water conservation plan, visit the city’s website.
