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Bracing For Drought's Affect on Utah Economy

bearriverinfo.org
In times of drought, water becomes a business risk and a precious recource.

Speaking at the Salt Lake Chamber’s “Water is Your Business” forum Friday, water strategist Will Sarni claimed that drought is Utah’s new normal. Facing water shortage problems due to an unusually warm winter, the state’s economy could be seriously impacted. In response to drought concerns, state water officials are looking to help businesses conserve water.

Drought has become so severe that farmers and ranchers in eight Utah counties now qualify for emergency loans. The federal government declared Sanpete County a primary disaster area. Deputy Director of the Utah Division of Water Resources Todd Adams said that, while the drought has mainly affected agriculture, the entire state benefits from water conservation.

“We need to have a conservation ethic statewide whether a drought is out there or not,” Adams said. “The drought so far has not affected us a whole lot from what we’ve seen or can tell, as far as municipal components [of the economy]. Agricultural, they’ve taken some hits but they try to do the best they can with what they have.”

Other Western states have felt the effects of drought on their economies. Drought has cost California an estimated $3 billion in economic growth. Rather than wait for the consequences to hit Main Street, Adams said, the Utah DWRe is out to help businesses be proactive.

“The division started what we call the ‘Water Wise Businesses Get My Business’ campaign. The response has been great. We’ve done some things with the local area chamber of commerces and we’ve had good reaction to it,” he said “It’s being proactive. A lot of communities from around the start are having water issues and maybe mandate in asking their residents [to conserve water]. It’s important businesses do the same thing.”

For more information on water conservation, follow thislink.