Darrah Jakab is associate principal, sustainable design at MHTN.
Utah is experiencing a series of climate-related issues that significantly complicate the future of water in the region. A megadrought has been going on in the West since the year 2000, and conditions have not been this dry in over 500 years. Unprecedented dry conditions in the Colorado River Basin have led to historically low water levels in Lake Powell and Lake Mead and triggered federal water restrictions for the first time ever this summer. Utah’s temperatures have been steadily increasing in the last 30 years and are expected to be warmer by 2050. A future with higher temperatures and less snow accumulation—with that snow melting earlier—threatens to impact the region’s water supply and Utah’s economy. Utah has been slow to adopt the more aggressive water conservation efforts of neighboring states and is now in a position of needing to make some significant changes to reckon with the implications of a water-scarce future. A concerted, coordinated effort is needed to tackle this challenge on a national, regional and local level. Architects and designers have an important role to play in advocating for water conservation, confronting cultural attachments to turf, implementing adaptable solutions and leading by example.