For anyone familiar with water conservation efforts in the state of Utah, the hours of 6 p.m. to 10 a.m. are fair game.
The state has requested Utah residents to water only during these hours, but the U-one of the state’s largest consumers of water-finds itself an exception to the rule.
The U grounds crew is watering the campus during the requested non-watering hours for a variety of reasons, according to U Plant Operations Director Pete van der Have.
Van der Have says the U doesn’t have the groundskeeping personnel to check for broken sprinkler heads without testing them.
“In most cases, it’s restoring the sprinkling system,” van der Have said.
Junior Lauri Wells says she supports the U’s conservation efforts, but feels certain oversights in maintenance are hampering the process.
“There is a lot of watering of the sidewalk,” she said.
Besides sprinkler-testing, the only other reason for watering during off-hours is maintaining new landscaping on campus, van der Have said.
“[Off-hours watering] is with permission of the necessary authorities,” including the Salt Lake City Department Of Public Utilities, he said.
“We really have that agreement with anybody,” said Stephanie Duer, water conservation coordinator for Salt Lake City, pointing out the city has recommendations, not regulations.
“If we get to a critical water condition, then that will change,” she said.
The city government has created a voluntary-reduction guide, in which consumers are asked to reduce water usage by 20 percent, van der Have said.
Water worries are leaving the U grounds crew with the difficult task of keeping up and caring for the grounds with little water and copious amounts of heat.
On May 23, 2003, Gov. Michael Leavitt declared Utah to be in a state of agricultural disaster due to the extreme conditions. Farmers in counties all over the state are reporting losses of up to $287 million so far.
Despite its significant water consumption, the U was able to dramatically cut water usage last year. After using 9,225,200 cubic feet of water in May 2001, the U lowered its used water in May 2002 to 5,849,400 cubic feet. This 36-percent drop in use far exceeds the statewide reduction of 15 percent.
“We are basically running a repeat of last year,” van der Have said.
The poor aesthetics of the dying grass is something which van der Have says is a byproduct of the necessary water consumption cut.
“Better in terms of water consumption, worse in terms of appearance,” he said.
Even the golf course is feeling the burn. Yellow spots dot the fairways while water is being used to care for the more demanding greens.
The death of campus greenery may have adverse effects on the U’s newcomers and their perceptions of the school.
“Most people from Utah know what the situation is, [but] there may be those that might not be as impressed by the beauty of the campus,” van der Have said.
Sean Young, a U student, said he notices the foliage death on campus, but understands it to be a necessary side effect of conservation.
“You can tell the campus looks more brown…but we live in a desert, we are in a drought, so I guess I’m more pleased that the U is conserving water than I am disappointed that the campus looks bad,” Young said. “The pros outweigh the cons.”
Van der Have says the focus of the grounds crew is to save the trees.
“When a tree goes into shock, it is hard to save,” he said.
Trees are such a priority for van der Have and his crew that they may even resort to caring for each tree individually, by hand, to make sure all the trees are receiving enough water.
Another factor prompting the U to cut its water consumption is the prohibitive utility cost. Salt Lake City Public Utilities has increased fees for those who are not working to conserve.
“One of the driving forces is the rate increase. So there is a significant financial cost,” van der Have said
The U is even considering alternative means of water conservation, like xeriscaping (also called zeroscaping), which creates a landscape requiring minimal water to survive.
Van der Have says when TRAX construction is complete, he and his crew are hoping to replace the currently torn-up areas with xeriscaped land plots.
Sophomore Brandi LeFavre says xeriscaping may even attract prospective students to the U.
“[Xeriscaping] would be really beautiful. I think that maybe the U could attract students because they want to go to an environmentally friendly school,” Lefavre said.
The Utah Rivers Council rated the U’s Research Park, which is mostly owned and managed by individuals and not the U, among the state’s worst in water conservation.
The council says 60 percent of Salt Lake City’s water goes to the over- watering of lawns. It says 20-to-60 percent of outdoor water consumption could be saved by xeriscaping.
Such xeriscaping, and other drought-tolerant landscaping, can be seen at many of the ramps of Utah’s freeways. The use of rocks and plants known to survive in high, dry heat-including plants native to the area-is a typical characteristic of xeriscaping.
In Utah, plants such as sage, cactus, clover and yucca may be used.
U graduate Mara Haslam recalls the water conservation steps last year and is glad to see them continued this year.
Haslam says the more water conservation, the better.
“The university is setting a good example for the rest of the community,” Haslam said. “Having green lawns is nice, but we need to conserve.”
While the U is working on reducing water consumption-a high priority during the upcoming peak summer months-it’s also thinking up other ways to become more environmentally friendly.
Van der Have says the school is working on converting U vehicles, including buses, to run on the less-pollutive fuel source, natural gas.
Students can do their part in water conservation, too. Van der Have says if students see a broken sprinkler head gushing water, they can alert the grounds crew by calling the dispatch office at 581-7221
“We need everybody’s eyes,” he said.
Contributed to by Ali Hasnain and Eryn Green.