Other that reducing water usage, 2 items that would help restore Great Salt Lake Water Levels to reasonable heights include, one, reducing the evaporation of Utah Lake, which loses 1/2 of its water that way.
Reducing evaporation for Utah Lake, which could supply much of the west bench of SLco with water, is not an easy solution.
The other item is removing a regulation of the state to Retain a certain amount of rainwater during site plan storm water design for projects over an acre. This would cost almost nothing and may reduce the costs of construction.
The state for at least many areas and for many years has required a certain amount of Detention, to act as a shock absorber to reduce flooding, but it has been recent, the last couple of years, that Retention has been required, even when the infrastructure is available to handle the storm water with reduced speed.
Detain, slow down, hold temporarily.
Retain, hold and not release at all.
In some locations, there is not a storm water drain system and no release is available, but when it is, it should be used. Slowing the flow is one thing, but eliminating some of the flow through retention can create problems and it complicates and can increase the cost of site development.
Some argue that Retention helps clean water, but actually Detention can do the same thing. In some cases, putting water into the ground can help and that can be handled locally, but this is not a good idea to have a one size fits all regulation. I spoke to an engineer from West Valley on Friday, and he hates the current requirement. Several Civil Engineers I have spoken to believe the general requirement is a mistake.
the document that mandates storm water retention when releasing into any municipal system.
https://www.utah.gov/pmn/files/978623.pdf
Look in section 4.2.5.1.2
4.2.5.1.2. Retention Requirement. The Permittee must develop and define a specific hydrologic method or methods for calculating runoff volumes and flow rates to ensure consistent sizing of structural BMPs in their jurisdiction and to facilitate plan review.
New development projects that disturb land greater than or equal to one acre, including projects that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale which collectively disturbs land greater than or equal to one acre must manage rainfall on- site and prevent the off-site discharge of the precipitation from all rainfall events less than or equal to the 80th percentile rainfall event or a predevelopment hydrologic condition, whichever is less. This objective must be accomplished by the use of practices that are designed, constructed, and maintained to infiltrate, have evapotranspiration, and/or harvest and reuse rainwater. The 80th percentile rainfall event is the event whose precipitation total is greater than or equal to 80 percent of all storm events over a given period of record. Redevelopment projects that disturb greater than or equal to one acre, including projects less than an acre that are part of a larger common plan of development or sale which collectively disturbs land greater than or equal to one acre must provide a site- specific and project-specific plan aimed at net gain to onsite retention or a reduction to impervious surface to provide similar water quality benefits. If a redevelopment project increases the impervious surface by greater than 10%, the project shall manage rainfall on-site and prevent the off-site discharge of the net increase in the volume associated with the precipitation from all rainfall events less than or equal to the 80th percentile rainfall event. This objective must be accomplished by the use of practices that are designed, constructed, and maintained to infiltrate, have evapotranspiration, and/or harvest and reuse rainwater.
Please change the rules or create a law to supersede the rules.
