Great Salt Lake legislation showing positive results

SALT LAKE CITY — Great Salt Lake legislation passed in previous sessions seems to be making a difference according to officials.

The Deputy Great Salt Lake Commissioner, Tim Davis said one major initiative measures water use, a process called secondary water metering. According to Davis, since metering, water usage decreased by 20-30%.

“There was $250 million invested to install water meters across the Great Salt Lake Basin,” said Davis. 

Other Great Salt Lake legislations in place

Another initiative invested $270 million into helping farmers and irrigation companies use water more efficiently. 

Additionally, Davis said a law that created a financial incentive to lessen water use for mineral extraction companies has already drawn one major company, Compass Minerals into an agreement. 

Davis anticipates lawmakers will discuss these measures and tweak them to make sure they are working as intended at the next legislative session.

While these measures are in place, Davis said we all still need to work together to conserve water.

“I think we have to do it as a state. We have to remind people that we’ve made progress, but there’s still a long way to go to get the lake to a healthy level. I think we can all do this. We can all do it together,” Davis said. 

Emma Keddington a producer and reporter for KSL NewsRadio.  

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