December 12, 2016
In 2014, the City of Saratoga Springs, Utah, had to decide whether to develop expensive additional water supplies to satisfy irrigation demands or to install secondary water meters to manage consumption.
“Part of what was happening was unlimited water use and the system was not designed for that. It was running out of capacity,” Steve Jones, an engineer at Hansen, Allen & Luce, told the Deseret News. “It took a little convincing, but the cost of putting in meters was going to be cheaper than developing enough water for everyone to have unlimited use.”
Hansen, Allen & Luce has been helping the rapidly growing city plan and design its water infrastructure. Jeremy Lapin, the city’s public works director, reported that secondary water use declined by at least 36% after installing the meters and that residents now understand the need for more sustainable water use.