Transmittal - 10/17/2022
SALT LAKE CITY COUNCIL TRANSMITTAL
_____________________________ Date Received:_________________
Lisa Shaffer, Chief Administrative Officer Date Sent to
Council:________________
______________________________________________________________________________
TO: Salt Lake City Council Date: October 14, 2022
Dan Dugan, Council Chair
FROM: Laura Briefer, Director, Salt Lake City Public Utilities LJB
SUBJECT: Salt Lake City Watershed Management Plan Update
STAFF CONTACTS:
Laura Briefer, Director, SLCDPU
801.483.6741, laura.briefer@slcgov.com.
Marian Rice, Deputy Director, SLCDPU
801.483.6765, marian.rice@slcgov.com
Patrick Nelson, Watershed Program Manager, SLCDPU
801.483.6889, patrick.nelson@slcgov.com.
DOCUMENT TYPE: Informational update on the status of the Watershed Management Plan:
The goal of this informational update is to present our findings to date and receive feedback from
the City Council prior to the completion of the draft Watershed Management Plan. The primary
goal of the Watershed Management Plan is to protect the high quality source of Salt Lake City’s
drinking water supply that originates from the Central Wasatch Mountains watershed areas.
RECOMMENDATION: None
BUDGET IMPACT: None
BACKGROUND DISCUSSION:
Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU) is responsible for the provision of
drinking water to more than 365,000 people within a 141 square mile water service area. This
Lisa Shaffer (Oct 17, 2022 08:51 MDT)10/17/2022
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service area has been established by City Code 17.16.005, and includes all of Salt Lake City and
portions of Mill Creek, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Murray, Midvale, and South Salt Lake
Cities. SLCDPU is regulated under state and federal laws as a Public Water System, and under
state laws as a Public Water Supplier. Under these regulatory paradigms, SLCDPU is responsible
and accountable to provide drinking water that is safe for public consumption, pursuant to Title
19 Chapter 4 (Utah Safe Drinking Water Act) and the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
SLCDPU is also required to manage Salt Lake City’s water resources pursuant to various
sections of Title 73 (Water and Irrigation) of Utah Code, including administering Salt Lake
City’s water rights. Finally, pursuant to Utah Code 10-8-15 (Powers and Duties of
Municipalities, Waterworks – Construction – Extraterritorial jurisdiction), Salt Lake City has the
authority to construct waterworks and protect water sources from pollution outside its municipal
boundaries.
Salt Lake City’s sources of drinking water include (1) surface water from the Wasatch
Mountains, Deer Creek Reservoir, and from tributaries of the Colorado River; and (2)
groundwater from more than 20 deep wells along the eastern bench of the Salt Lake Valley.
Currently, about 85-90% of Salt Lake City’s water supplies are surface water sources, and on
any given year, about 50 to 60 percent of Salt Lake City’s drinking water is water that is sourced
from the headwaters of the Central Wasatch Mountains (the City Creek, Parleys Creek, Big
Cottonwood Creek, and Little Cottonwood Creek watersheds), outside Salt Lake City’s
municipal boundaries.
The Central Wasatch Mountains watersheds are of critical importance to Salt Lake City and have
been so for more than a century. This is due to several factors: 1) the close proximity of these
water sources to the City’s service area; 2) the elevation of the water sources allowing for a less
energy intensive gravity based distribution system; 3) the high quality of the water from these
sources; and 4) Salt Lake City’s direct ownership of water rights in these stream systems.
Without the water resources from these watersheds, Salt Lake City would be in dire
circumstances.
For more than a century, Salt Lake City has invested in the stewardship of the Central Wasatch
Mountains watersheds and extensive infrastructure to treat and distribute this water to the
growing population in Salt Lake City’s water service area. This has served as the underpinning to
Salt Lake City’s ability to prosper and thrive over the decades and provides public health and
environmental benefits.
Since 1989, SLCDPU has prepared watershed management plans to implement watershed
protection strategies, inform city ordinances, guide intergovernmental coordination, and comply
with federal and state regulations. The last comprehensive Watershed Management Plan in 1999
has served the City well as the basis for the required six year watershed management plan
updates pursuant to State Rule R309-605 (Source Protection: Drinking Water Source Protection
for Surface Water Sources). These regular updates were provided in 2008, 2014, and 2020 as
required by the Rule. The next submittal under this Rule will be due in 2026; the completion of
this plan during this interim time will be beneficial from a regulatory perspective.
In recent years, SLCDPU has monitored and observed changes significant enough to require a
comprehensive update to the 1999 Watershed Management Plan to identify additional strategies
to address climate change, wildfire risk, population growth, increases in recreational visitation to
the Wasatch Mountains, and changes in federal and state regulations. As such, SLCDPU kicked
off the update to its Watershed Management Plan in the summer of 2021, including technical
assessments and public engagement occurring since that time. Currently, the new plan is in the
development process, compiling the scientific data and community input into recommendations
that will inform the next generation of watershed management strategies.
It should be noted that SLCDPU prepares several water-related plans in concert with each other.
This includes the Watershed Management Plan, the Water Supply and Demand Plan that looks
ahead at least 40 years, a Water Conservation Plan, and Major Conveyance Studies. These
initiatives cross-reference each other to ensure a holistic and strategic approach to the
stewardship and management of the City’s water resources.
PUBLIC PROCESS: The Central Wasatch Watersheds cover about 190 square miles of
mountainous area with numerous local, state, and federal jurisdictions. They are also of great
interest to advocacy organizations, commercial interests, and the public. Numerous jurisdictions
and stakeholders also benefit from the water provided by SLCDPU provides and that emanates
from these watersheds. Therefore, the public process for the Watershed Management Plan is
extensive. This includes engaging (1) an Advisory Committee comprised of state and federal
regulators and land managers; and (2) a Stakeholder Committee of diverse government, non-
profit, resident, and private sector interests. Stakeholder and Advisory Committee meetings were
held March through May 2022. Public Open houses were held in May and June 2022.
The next steps in the public process will be the preparation of a draft Plan for public comment in
Winter 2022-2023, incorporation of additional feedback, and a proposed final Plan for formal
Council adoption in late Spring 2023.
EXHIBIT
Project documents, meeting videos, process flow charts, and the public comment submittal
portal are located at www.slc.gov/utilities/watershedmanagementplan/