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Water Conservation Plan 2025

The Salt Lake City Water Conservation Plan 2025 is a plan developed by the City’s Department of Public Utilities to plan for current and future water demand, and to develop strategies that guide our community in water use to help assure our supplies are resilient and available now and into the future. This plan, which looks out 40-years, is based on data analysis and modeling conducted during the Water Master Plan Study and current and historical water use patterns. This plan is required by Utah State Statute: State of Utah Conservation Plan Act 73-10-003200 and is updated every five years.

2025 Water Conservation Plan

Key Findings

Data analysis shows that our current rate of conservation is not enough to stay within our projected future water supply. This plan identifies the rate of conservation necessary over the next forty years.
Goals

– Keep on track to meet long-term water supply needs.
– Facilitate efforts to increase resource and system resilience in the face of identified risks, including climate change.
– Encourage the continued wise use of water; and
– Be consistent with conservation goals established by the State, Central Utah Project, Alliance for Water Efficiency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Engagement

In August and September, 2025, Public Utilities hosted online presentations and open houses to share information regarding the water conservation plan and to hear community feedback. A survey was also posted for several months to collect questions and comments.
Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need a conservation plan? Have we had conservation plans in the past? How is this plan different from previous plans? What does conservation mean to me? Does the plan consider how businesses and government can help conserve? Does the plan support efforts to protect Great Salt Lake?

Contact

Read the 2025 Conservation Plan

Background information

Working with Bowen Collins & Associates, Inc., the Department has prepared the 2025 Water Conservation Plan in accordance with the State of Utah Conservation Plan Act 73-10-003200, as well as under guidelines outlined in the American Water Works Association Manual M52: Water Conservation Programs. This plan was presented to City Council in November 2025 and formally adopted, after public hearings, in December of that year.

What is a water conservation plan?

At its simplest, water conservation is the effort of learning to use less water while balancing quality-of-life standards, growth, the environment, and changes in climate.  There are many reasons to conserve water, and for a community, it makes sense to plan that conservation effort. A water conservation plan considers water supply and historical demand to establish appropriate goals for water use and water use reductions. Water Conservation plans are used to convey the need to conserve, identify tools and resources, and build a shared purpose that motivates us all to achieve the desired, and necessary, conservation goals.

Why does a water conservation plan matter?

We all need water, and not just for our homes. We need water for our schools, churches, the places we work or do business. Water conservation planning helps to ensure that we understand our water supply, now and into the future, and the demand for that supply, now and into the future. Plans are a way to develop programs that help to achieve conservation goals by identifying challenges and impediments for conservation and supporting the community’s conservation efforts.

Resources