The Great Salt Lake has dropped 22 feet since 1986. Twenty-two feet is only the height of a two-story building, a street lamp or a young Saguaro cactus. It's not that impressive.
But the Great Salzsee is a wide and flat Landemeer that is fatal to evaporate.
In the time when the lake loss had dropped, the surface dropped from 3,300 to 950 square miles, which was reduced by 2,350 square miles.
The lost area is greater than the size of the entire state of Delaware. Water that is diverted for human use by bear, Jordan and Weber flows is largely to blame.
The large salt lake is at risk in our lives.
The domestic Sea is very productive and supports billions of dollars such as salt, brine shrimp and magnesium. In the wetlands, 8-10 million migration birds, including American white pelicans, organize snow-capped plans and ear grays.
In addition, the Lake Effect Snow contributes to the relatively high rainfall level of the Wasach Front and enables the world -famous skiing of Utah and the characteristic snow quality. Without the lake, the Salt Lake Valley risks as dry and dusty as the west desert.
The immense challenge of maintaining a large salt lake for current and future generations requires us to act. It is important to save water in every capacity, especially among the largest water users who have to go with a good example.
I examined our water consumption on campus.
Public universities are not obliged to disclose their water consumption. Savannah Jordaan and Alta Fairbourne, members of Asuu, asked the landscape department for this information.
In 2024, the U used around 227 million gallons to water the campus landscape design and a total of 808 million gallons – and cost almost 10 million dollars. The good news is that water consumption has dropped by 14%since 2020.
However, we still consume over 800 million gallons annually.
Although 10 million US dollars seems expensive, it is relatively cheap for the amount.
Utah's Water Conservancy Districts manage the water supply via dams and pipelines, which are largely financed by basic taxes. This subsidizes the water costs for all users, in particular for tax -friendly institutions such as U. As a result, the university benefits from water infrastructure financed by the taxpayer, but there is no considerable financial incentives to reduce their own consumption.
A significant part of the water consumption of the U becomes irrigation of lawns and other landscape features. Lawn surfaces require constant irrigation, especially during the scorching summer in Utah if the temperatures can exceed 100 ° F.
The evaporation continues to tighten the water requirement and leaves grass thirstily after precious water catchment area.
America obsession The European heritage comes with lawns.
Lawns were brought to North America to imitate the goods of the British kings and symbolize wealth and prestige. In the eastern US College campus, lush green lawns have often occurred, which are preserved from plenty of precipitation.
But the U is not in England or on the east coast – it is in a desert.
At Arizona State University, its landscape design offers mesquite trees, cacti, drought-tolerant grasses and succulents, ahms the surrounding desert and delivers ecological functions. The U must pursue a similar approach.
The short answer to this problem is the cooperation between students, landscapes and administration.
A survey by Jordaan and Fairbourne was filled out by 400 students and made useful contributions for the design of the U. Landscaping employees and used to maintain sustainable rooms, while the administrators have to finance and support these initiatives. Without all parties that work together, a sensible change is impossible.
For this reason, Jordaan and Fairbourne passed a resolution that supported a gradual initiative in the landscape master plan to eliminate 100% of the non -functional lawn. Non -functioning lawn, as defined by Utahs HB242 (2024), is ornamental grass with little to no leisure value.
The plan includes a campus -wide survey in autumn 2025, which prioritizes the removal of unused lawn areas. These areas would be replaced by locals, drought -tolerant species.
Advances in water consumption, lawn removal and sustainability goals would be reported annually, whereby the financing is secured by grants and water savings. The timeline comprises 10-15 years and balances the urgency with feasibility.
The replacement of not functioning lawn is not just about saving water. It is about creating a more lively and ecologically diverse campus. Local plants, adapted to Utah's climate, maximize local weather patterns, reduce the urban heat -island effect and offer pollinators such as colibris, butterflies and bees habitat.
In contrast, lawn do only organize a few species, if at all.
The landscaping department has completed several sustainable landscape projects on campus for its loan.
The Monarch migration corridor for Monarch -butterfly offers caterpillars with a crucial importance.
The pollber garden of the architectural building supports floor -nasting bees. I particularly like the high, pronious grasses such as Blue Grama and Indian rice grass that fluctuate gracefully into the wind and give my day a feeling of peace.
The U also offers over 9,600 trees, cools the environment and supports the biological diversity. Each of the 250 species can be examined via the tree tour of the U.
The landscape design also improves actively. In collaboration with Salt Lake City, they planted 1,300 local plants and design a bioswale near the Central Campus Drive to manage rainwater and reduce flood risks.
The climate protection plan outlines strategies to reduce water consumption, to expand the natural areas and to combat the resistance of ecosystems.
However, the plan is based on outdated student surveys from 2013 and 2017, which have reached their current severity before Great Salt Lake's crisis.
As part of Utah's state arboretum, the U should be inspired by his neighbor Red Butte Garden.
In contrast to the lawn -dominated campus, Red Butte has wildflowers, shrubs and local grasses, which often thrive without excessive irrigation. A campus that blooms with local plants will attract potential students and proudly bring the student body.
The landscape design strives to implement drought -tolerant designs, but must need administrative finance in order to be successful.
These projects require preliminary investments, but ultimately lower water invoices that contribute to the restoration of great Salt Lake. The landscape design also welcomes feedback. If the students notice a problem with sprinklers or other problems, you should call 801-581-722: a maintenance line around the clock.
You say the grass is always greener where you pour it.
I say that the U has to do that this way of thinking wastes water on non -native grass that is neglected, but by pointing our attention to the amazing plants of Utah.
By moving our focus on the native flora in Utah, the University of Utah can lead to sustainability, biological diversity and landscape resilience. The most important thing is that by reducing our water consumption, we can work to heal the large salt lake. With the rapid expansion of the Salt Lake Valley and the U, a healthy large salt lake is not negotiable.
Together, students and civil servants can alleviate environmental impacts and save this vital inland lake for future generations.
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