Utah residents encouraged to harvest rain to conserve water

With Utah facing its third year of drought, the Utah Rivers Council is handing out 50-gallon rain barrels as part of a 3-day water conservation event.

As Salt Lake City’s Fox 13 reports (video embedded below), several cities in Utah are already facing water restrictions because of the drought.  The barrels distributed by the Council can collect rainwater for landscaping and gardening by residents wanting to do their part to reduce the strain on municipal water systems.

The rain harvest program began eight years ago and, according to the Utah Rivers Council, has saved at least 430,000 gallons of water.

3,000 barrels will be distributed by the Council this year, with the first 800 free and the others for sale at discounted prices.

The Utah Rivers Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is partnering this year with Salt Lake County, Millcreek, Murray, Cottonwood Heights, Taylorsville, Herriman, Lehi, Orem, Summit County, and Park City, as well as customers of Mountain Regional Water, to subsidize the barrels for the 2022 rain harvesting program.

Utah has been facing a serious drought condition, with its reservoirs at 60% capacity.  The US drought monitor reports that the entire state is either abnormally dry, in moderate drought or experiencing severe drought.  About 44% of Utah is already in extreme drought.