The landscape of northern Utah is defined by its sweeping mountain ranges, beautiful valleys and expansive Great Salt Lake. Despite the disparity of these natural features, they are all deeply connected to each other as they play vital roles in transporting or holding water. This water that flows down the mountains, through the valleys and into the Great Salt Lake is the same water that powers our hydroelectric plants, runs through our taps and gives refuge to our local wildlife.
“The key thing about Big Cottonwood [Creek] is it’s used twice,” said Dustin Gilgen, water treatment systems manager at the Big Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant. “It’s used for power, and it’s also used for drinking water.” This plant is able to treat up to 38 million gallons of water a day, enough to fill over 57 Olympic swimming pools.
From the alpine lakes up in the mountains, to the wetlands down by the Great Salt Lake, our water traverses a very diverse landscape in such a short time.
“We are very fortunate that we have incredibly clean water here and it comes down rather fast,” said Teresa Gray, water quality and treatment administrator at the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities. “It can take just a few hours between the time the water falls in the canyons, and it ends up in someone’s home or in the Jordan River.”