Heber City is preparing to weather the storm — or rather, lack of it — during the outdoor watering season in light of Gov. Spencer Cox’s issuing of a statewide emergency declaration over drought conditions on Thursday. 

The latest Water Supply Outlook Report by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, released May 1, said this has been Utah’s “worst winter for snowpack going back to at least 1930.” Snowpack — the accumulation of snow, which melts seasonally into bodies of water like reservoirs — provides approximately 95% of the state’s water, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources.

Currently, 22 counties in Utah are in severe drought, with the remaining seven, including Wasatch County, experiencing varying levels of extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Just over half a percent of Wasatch County’s land area is experiencing extreme drought.

Heber City has been preparing for Cox to make an emergency declaration since the state-federal Drought Response Committee recommended he do so on May 7. 

In preparation for an emergency declaration, the City Council on Tuesday agreed to draft and vote on a resolution to enter into the second phase of the city’s four-stage water shortage plan during its next meeting.

The second phase indicates a moderate water shortage that is expected to last the rest of the pressurized irrigation season, which is April 15 to Oct. 15. 

The city encourages residents to voluntarily conserve water in several ways, including limiting hard surface washing, covering swimming pools when not in use and reducing the water level by four inches below spill line and washing vehicles using a bucket and hose nozzle. 

The city also asks that residents limit lawn watering to three days a week June through August and two times a week in April, May, September and October, and that residents to not water their lawns during rainy, snowy or windy days or between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The third phase would make mandatory the guidelines around lawn watering, swimming pools and hard surface washing. The fourth phase would create more stringent water conservation mandates.

The full water shortage plan can be found in the agenda materials for the meeting.

Now that Cox has issued a state of emergency due to drought, Heber City could initiate the third phase of its water shortage plan. 

However, Cox’s emergency declaration does not include any statewide water conservation mandates, instead recommending that cities and counties implement their own restriction plans. As such, Heber City would coordinate with Central Utah Water Conservancy District, which includes Wasatch County, and local irrigation companies before entering the third phase, Mayor Heidi Franco explained.

“We have to rely on (the Central Utah Water Conservancy District) and what they tell the irrigation companies about how much is going to be coming through the canals that can be used for outdoor watering,” Franco said. “I’m expecting next month to get a report from (the Central Utah Water Conservancy District), as well as the irrigation companies, on if there would be any cutbacks, you know, 10%, 20%. Who knows if there would be any cutbacks for the outdoor watering levels that we’re used to?”

City engineer Russ Funk meets with representatives from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District on a monthly basis and said the district expects mandatory cuts at some point in the irrigation season.

“Right now, their message is voluntary reduction. Whatever we can save now is going to help us extend the irrigation season later,” he said.

Franco, for one, is eager to enter the third phase and wanted to do so before Cox issued his declaration.

“It’s not going to be a pretty sight when Deer Creek (Reservoir) gets lower or Jordanelle (Reservoir) gets lower. And I’m sure that when we see that happen throughout this summer, depending on moisture, people will be more cautious,” she said.

No phase of Heber City’s water shortage plan requires indoor water conservation. Nonetheless, the city will be including both outdoor and indoor water conservation tips in its newsletter.

Additionally, City Councilor Mike Johnston and Public Works Director Matthew Kennard recommended that residents download the EyeOnWater app, which tracks household water use.

Any cutbacks or mandates on agricultural water use would be issued by water districts or irrigation companies rather than Heber City. 

Agricultural producers can apply for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s Emergency Disaster Relief Loan Program to help cover “disaster-related losses.” The six-month application period opened on Thursday in response to Cox’s drought declaration. 

Johnston expressed some frustration with agricultural water use on Tuesday.

“I don’t want us to save, save, save, cut back, cut back, cut back, and all the farmers don’t,” he said. “It’s kind of tough when you’re saving, and you’re not watering your park strip, and you drive by the billions of gallons being thrown on the hay. It kind of makes you feel stupid.”

City Councilor Yvonne Barney responded that that was no reason for individuals not to do their part in conserving water. She also recommended meeting with local farmers to better understand their water needs. 

She also alluded to the controversial 40,000-acre Stratos data center project in Box Elder County, which since its approval by the Military Installation Development Authority has prompted concern about its proximity to the Great Salt Lake and protests to its water rights applications. It’s still not clear exactly how much water the data center would use.

Barney said that “we may be frustrated” with “huge data centers going in” but that there was “nothing wrong with us being wise nonetheless” about individual water conservation.

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Heavy rains in August helped turn the summer around after a terrible June and July left Utah feeling hot and dry.

The state’s mountains are typically well-watered due to the seasonal monsoons, but last month was better than average. Utah received almost 3 inches of new precipitation in August, which is 178% of normal, according to the Sept. 1 Utah Climate and Water report.

“The fact that we got some monsoonal precipitation wasn’t at all surprising. The fact that it was above normal is kind of the cherry part. So, that’s positive,” said Jordan Clayton, a supervisor with the Utah Snow Survey.

Statewide, the water year-to-date precipitation is about 105% of normal. That’s about a 2% increase from July, putting the state on track for a typical year. 

Soil moisture saturation levels across Utah are at 39%, which is 7% lower than this time last year. The report said the monsoonal moisture provided a nice reprieve to the mountain soil, but it quickly started to dry up again.

“I’m guessing that if we don’t get some more moisture before the snow hits, that we’re going to wind up with below soil moisture conditions, but we’ll see what the next couple months bring in terms of moisture,” Clayton said.

Reservoir storage is also doing alright. Capacity is about 77% statewide. That’s 6% lower than July but right on par with last year’s capacity.

Some areas of the state including the northeastern Uintas and southwestern Utah have been able to retain a large percentage of storage capacity, but other areas such as the Beaver watershed and Tooele-Vernon Creek area have depleted resources at a faster rate.

The Weber-Ogden watershed, which includes Summit County, was around 76% capacity as of Sept. 1 compared to 84% last year. An average of 2.2 inches of rain fell in the region.

The Smith and Morehouse and Echo reservoirs had the greatest decrease in capacity between this summer and last. The Echo Reservoir was at 58% capacity, and the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir was at 76% compared to 72% and 96% last year, respectively.

The Rockport Reservoir saw about a 10% decrease in the last year, sitting at 73% in the latest report. The Jordanelle Reservoir was at 80% during both periods.

“While Utah’s reservoirs are generally in good shape, we continue to encourage water managers to conserve water where possible to prepare for the possibility of a return to drought conditions in future years,” the report stated.

Clayton said the summer is actually one of the busiest periods for National Resources Conservation Service staff because they’re maintaining and expanding their weather stations.

The team visits all 138 sites in Utah, as well as locations in Nevada and around Lake Tahoe, to ensure they’re working properly. New sites are also installed to the network, including one that’s already been built in Millcreek Canyon to replace annual manual measurements, as well as another site planned near Bears Ears National Monument.

Clayton didn’t have a lot of confidence in the connection between the El Niño and La Niña (ENSO) cycle and Utah. He noted there have been many inconsistencies between the weather patterns and winter conditions in Utah.

“Really what we need is those atmospheric rivers to develop when the jet streamlines up from the Pacific, kind of in a west-to-east direction, and it really can draw on a lot of that moisture and pour it into the Sierras and pour it into Utah. That’s when we really get our huge boosts in our snowpack,” he said.

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