Major Wasatch Front Watershed Protection Initiative Launched

"Keep it Pure" campaign kickoff press conference highlights the importance of watershed protection in preserving drinking water quality.

Forest Supervisor Tom Tidwell and Salt Lake City Mayor Ross C. Anderson speak at Salt Lake City Public Utilities' "Keep It Pure" campaign.

Salt Lake City, UT, September 23, 2003 - At a press conference held at the Storm Mountain picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Mayor Rocky Anderson and the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities unveiled a new "Keep It Pure" media campaign. The purpose of the public awareness campaign is to educate local residents and visitors how to preserve the pristine water supply by acting responsibly in the Wasatch Front watershed canyons.

Catching rain and snow, several watershed canyons along the Wasatch Front are an important part of the Salt Lake valley's drinking water supply and are designated "protected watershed areas." The protected canyons are City Creek, Parleys, Big Cottonwood, and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Water from those canyon streams reaches as many as 405,000 people within 24 hours.

"With our current drought situation, so much of the public's attention has been drawn to the issue of water conservation," said Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. "Our remarkable success saving water demonstrates the public's willingness to take action to protect our resources, if people are given the right information about how to act responsibly. Protecting the quality of our water is just as vital as conserving the quantity we have to use. Our actions now to protect the purity and safety of our canyon streams will have lasting benefits for many generations."

The "Keep It Pure" theme for this initiative, emblazoned on the campaign's logo, will be a focal point for new canyon signs, newspaper advertisements, bumper stickers, and other program elements. As part of this comprehensive public education program, a new drinking water supply watershed protection overview will be provided to local school districts as an addendum to their current water science curriculum.

The U.S. Forest Service is partnering with the City on implementation of the watershed education campaign. In addition to the education effort, the City and Forest Service are installing new toilets at trailhead areas to reduce pollution from public recreation sources. Federal funding contributions for these programs were supported by Senator Bennett and Representative Matheson with the "Wasatch Canyons Water Quality Initiative" included in the 2003 Appropriations Bill. More than $290,000 was set aside by the federal government to supplement Salt Lake City's $280,000 share of the campaign's costs.

This new "Keep It Pure" campaign is necessary for two important reasons. First, the Wasatch Front canyons are some of the most heavily used recreational forests in the nation, with millions of visitors annually. Second, many visitors to these canyons, including local residents, do not understand that their activity in the canyons can have an immediate impact on the quality and safety of their drinking water.

For generations, Wasatch Front residents and visitors have enjoyed recreating in these pristine canyons. But few residents realize that the same water they may be tempted to play in is also the water we drink every day. "The scarcity of this water resource, coupled with ever-increasing recreational use and pressure on these canyons, makes personal stewardship of the watershed an important practice for every person in the canyons," said Tom Tidwell, Forest Supervisor of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

Salt Lake County Mayor Nancy Workman described the Wasatch Canyon watershed as a "great resource for the people." Noting that with teamwork between the various watershed agencies, canyon visitors can enjoy the beauty of the canyons, and still maintain the quality of the water.

Town of Alta councilperson Tom Pollard said that they have worked very hard with Salt Lake City to protect the watersheds. "Alta, being an upstream community, takes it's role of guardianship of the Little Cottonwood watershed very seriously," noted Pollard. He said that the town of Alta recently fulfilled part of its goal to protect the Albion basin located at the headwaters of Little Cottonwood Creek with conservation easements. "Mayor Levitt and I, in behalf of the Alta community would like to express our deep appreciation for the efforts Salt Lake City is taking in respect to watershed education."

The new "Keep It Pure" campaign is designed to help raise the awareness of water quality issues with the public and to motivate each canyon visitor to act responsibly to help protect our watershed canyons. The Department of Public Utilities plans to install 90 signs at 40 locations with the watershed canyons. Additionally, media ads will keep the new "Keep It Pure" theme before the public during the coming year.

Questions about watershed protection and the "Keep It Pure" education program can be directed to Tom Ward, at (801) 483-6705 or e-mail at thomas.ward@ci.slc.ut.us.