Low water levels at Utah Lake cause restrictions for Daybreak

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — The Daybreak Water Company says its secondary water access is restricted because of the low water levels at Utah Lake. The restriction on access to secondary water came from the Utah Engineer’s Office.

Secondary water is unfiltered water that is used for things such as landscaping and gardening.

Low levels at Utah Lake

According to K.C. Shaw, deputy general manager at the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, water restrictions are in place to help with the health of Utah Lake.

“They have levels that say if water gets down this low, you have to restrict flows,” he said. “If it gets any lower, you have to cut other water users. So, they are trying to maintain the health of Utah Lake, according to a management plan that has been in place for many years.”

Shaw says those who have the youngest water rights will have their water restricted first.

“Then the senior water rights, if water levels get down low enough, they will get cut as well,” he said. “But, water-right cuts are a common method to manage the water supply and make certain that you give what you can to the water-right user, but also maintain the health of the resource.”

Shaw says the State Engineer will decide on how and when to restrict water access. The decision is based on guidelines by the Utah Lake Management Plan.

The State Engineer and the Regional Engineer over Utah Lake were unavailable to comment for this story.

Mark Jones contributed to this article.

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