Payson Mayor Bill Wright Encourages Water Conservation

To the Residents of Payson City:

The State of Utah and the City of Payson are experiencing severe drought conditions in 2021. Governor Cox issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency due to drought. At the time of the declaration in Mid-March, all Utah's 29 counties were experiencing some level of drought; four of Utah's top 42 reservoirs were less than 20% full.

The following is the city watering schedule for the irrigation season.

• If your address ends in an odd number you water on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

• If your address ends in an even number you water on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

• No one should water on Sunday to allow the system time to recover and allow the ponds to refill for the rest of the week. 

• The large users need to water during the day to prevent pressure issues for the residents. 

• Residents are asked to refrain from watering between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. The PI system cannot handle everyone watering at the same time and when everyone does this causes a pressure drop and affects everyone. If we all water when we are supposed to there should not be problems. With everyone's help there should be adequate pressure and water available for everyone, but if we do not follow this we will continue to have problems. 

The State of Utah's website, www.water.utah.gov has some great educational information. For example, there is a weekly lawn watering guide. For this week of May 21-28, it is recommended that yards only need to water two times a week. Click on the following link to see the map. https://conservewater.utah.gov/weeklv-lawn-watering-guide/

Some other suggestions to help conserve water include:

Wait to water

Fix leaks

Run full loads (dishwasher and washing machines)

Turn off the water while brushing teeth, shaving, soaping up, doing dishes or rinsing vegetables 

Reduce showers by at least one minute

Consider implementing water-wise landscaping or purchasing a smart irrigation controller.

You can also visit "Slow the Flow" website to look at additional conservation guidelines.

The city will continue to monitor the drought conditions and as the summer progresses, we will adjust the water schedule to address current conditions. If we work together, we can make it through this challenging summer of drought. I appreciate the citizens of Payson and the great community we live in.

Warm Regards,

William R. Wright

Payson City Mayor