Riverton warns everyone to cut back on water use

RIVERTON — The city of Riverton is already seeing water problems and they could get worse if people don’t cut back on how much they irrigate their lawns.

Currently, residents in Riverton are going through six to seven million gallons of culinary water per day and between 30 and 34 million gallons of secondary water every day.  That works out to an average of 683 gallons of culinary water per household every day, and nearly 3,000 gallons of secondary water per household.

City leaders say the strain on their system is definitely coming from people using too much on their yards.

Riverton City Communications Director Casey Saxton says, “If people were only using what they need, then we wouldn’t have a problem.”

Water, water everywhere

The city’s secondary water system was designed to handle future growth, but that amount of water is simply too much.

“What happens here in Riverton, when people are over-watering or where we see excessive use, is the pressure drops.  Then, nobody can really water their lawn very well because there isn’t enough pressure,” he adds.

Serious, but not dire… yet

Saxton says they’re asking everyone to cut their water usage by 25 percent.  He calls the situation serious, but not dire, yet.  That means everyone will have to get used to seeing some brown on their lawns.

“If your lawn is 100 percent green, then the chances are that you’re probably over-watering,” Saxton says.

This request isn’t just for homeowners and business leaders.  Saxton says, “We’re asking everybody to do their part.  That includes HOAs and that include the city.  The city has over 470 acres of park space and green space.”

A unique situation

A statement from the city explains why Riverton’s situation is somewhat different than other cities in the Salt Lake Valley.

“Riverton is unique in that every residential address has secondary water access available for a flat monthly rate based on lot size; a cost-saving service that most cities cannot or do not provide. Secondary water is not metered in the city, which is the likely cause of excessive consumption,” it reads.

So far, this is just a request from the city.  However, Saxton says the city will look into fines or other penalties if they need to.