April 2021
April showers usually bring May flowers, but this year may be a bit different. Utah experienced its driest year on record in 2020. The Governor recently declared a state of emergency due to extreme drought conditions. A dry season means we’re likely to feel pressure to start watering our lawns sooner and use more water. Higher use will result in an increased bill.
I am concerned about the financial impact these larger water bills have on our residents. Over the last year, the Council and I have worked diligently to manage residential water rates and restructure the existing rate system to better serve residents. I’d like to share some of the things we accomplished:
- Rolled back an 8% water increase planned for implementation this fiscal year.
- Restructured the water rate tiers to remove subsidies and ensure that residents are paying for actual use, moving to greater equity between commercial and residential users.
- Reduced the financial burden on lower water users, decreasing water bills.
We’re going to remain focused on ensuring that rate planning is based on sound financial practices and do our best to keep increases at bay, but we need your help. You control how much water is used by your home – the more water you use, the higher the bill.
To help keep bills in check, this year we are encouraging residents to be more ‘water wise’ and conserve where they can. You can maintain a fantastic looking yard and keep your bill from skyrocketing during the drought, all while using less water.
In this edition of the West Jordan Journal, you will find many resources on saving money, time and water. You can start small and simply adjust your sprinklers to ensure that water isn’t spraying sidewalks and driveways, you can take it another step up and harvest any rain that may fall using a rain barrel, or you can ‘flip your strip’ and remove some of the grass from your yard to save you money for years to come.
Investing in these water wise practices will not only save you money in the long run, but it will help the City manage rates overall. Please consider taking advantage of some of the resources and rebates available to residents in our city and do your part to be more water wise.
Working together on water wise initiatives will keep our City looking fantastic. We can do this West Jordan!
Sincerely,
Mayor Dirk Burton
