The Wasatch Front's 3 Greatest Ecological Issues

The Setup

The Wasatch Front in North-Central Utah is a narrow swath of nearly continuous suburban sprawl stretching along the Wasatch Range from Santaquin in the South to Logan in the north, a distance of approximately 120 miles. With the Wasatch Range to the east, it is bordered to the west by Utah Lake in Utah Valley, the Oquirrh Mountains in the Salt Lake Valley, and the Great Salt Lake at the northern end. Its population of around 2,739,148 makes up 80% of the entire state of Utah, and some estimate its population will increase by 66% by 2060.

I have lived along the Wasatch Front since my college days in the early 90s. During that time, I have witnessed many changes to the area, some positive, some negative. (Geneva Steel being removed from Utah Valley was one of the most positive things I've seen.) Winters of recent years have brought less snow (this winter being an exception), the winter inversions have often lasted for days between storms, allowing the build up of gunk in the air we breathe, and development of an ever-expanding suburbia has eaten up the farm land and orchards. For a state whose beginnings were filled with visions, its vision of unlimited growth for a sliver of its overall area is almost certainly undercut by its myopic actions in handling water scarcity, pollution, and urban development.

Water Scarcity (Drought)

In northern Utah, if you look outside right now, we have snow on the ground. This winter has been good for snowfall and bolstering the snow pack. Yet, the reality is that since the turn of the century, we're not just experiencing a drought, it's a megadrought. For two decades now. And we would need several more winters like this one to get out of it.

Yet, the average citizen of the Wasatch Front (and I count myself among this lot) hasn't acted like we're in a drought. We water our lawns, golf courses, park strips, ornamental grass, gardens, alfalfa, vehicles, you name it, as if there were no tomorrow. Even if homeowners wanted to use less water, their Homeowners Association often requires them to keep their grass green and their landscaping up to standards.

In American Fork, the city is beginning to transition to metering the irrigation water as well as the residential, but up to now, you pay a fixed amount for irrigation water (which has been historically low compared to what is used) and a fee based on your last three-months' usage for residential water. Once metering is in place for both, then market forces may compel residents to curtail their water use. When the price is too much to live carefree, you adapt.

At the state level, session after session, the Utah Legislature doesn't seem to be intent on making the policy changes necessary for each of the water districts in the state to effectively and consistently change their approach to water conservation. They want to welcome new residents to the state, increasing the competition for water resources, but don't want to offer incentives to water districts to ditch regulations that aren't working for the greater good of Utah.

The half-hearted effort to save the Great Salt Lake is an example of how short-sighted the competing interests are:

There's no multimillion-dollar push to install secondary meters .... There are no major overhauls to the state's water laws. And we definitely didn't see any emergency actions to get water to the lake at any cost, as researchers and environmental advocates had urged.

When the toxic dust from a dried-up Great Salt Lake is blowing across your manicured lawns, Utah, then will you turn down the spigot?

Pollution

Along the Wasatch Front, we live in our respective bowls. Whichever valley you reside in, you have mountains on most sides, so it's like living in a gigantic bowl. When the valley is clear, you can see across to the other side. It's a majestic view. But, in the winter especially, we have what are called "inversions" that make for a soup bowl. A layer of warm air blankets the valley at higher altitudes and traps cool air in the valley. It also traps pollution that is not cleared out until the next storm comes through and scours the valley. Even in the summer though, we get the ozone haze of particulates hanging over the valley. Evidently, living with polluting vehicles and industry in a valley with a lid on it doesn't mix well for health and clean air.

It's in the best interest of those living along the Wasatch Front to transition to clean energy as soon as possible. With all the sun we get most of the year, imagine all the microgrids we could create with solar panels on our homes, parking spaces, and schoolhouse roofs. Instead of defending and propping up Utah Coal, the State could provide incentives to transition to a green energy economy, including tax breaks for buying electric vehicles. Even if only 80% of our vehicles on the road were electric, imagine how much cleaner our air would be?

Urban Development

For many Utah families, the "American Dream" is to own a single-family home with a yard, an SUV or a minivan, and a pickup truck, and for each of which, the bigger, the better. It's the Holy Trinity of Utah living. If that's your dream, that's you, except that the Wasatch Front cannot physically accommodate making that a reality for everyone in the current and the expected future population.

Practically, that's probably not the goal of our city planners. But, at 120-plus miles long and 18 miles wide (at its widest), the Wasatch Front cities still need to move away from the traditional suburban zoning of non-mixed zones. The 15-mile city where you need a car to safely get anywhere could transition to a 15-minute city where efficient public transportation and bicycling get people around to what matters in their life.

I own a single-family home, and I like to say my family sneaked into the neighborhood we live in because we bought before the prices went up so high. I count myself fortunate. At the same time, when I go abroad or even to a large city like New York City and then return home, I'm frustrated that if I wanted to ride a bike or take public transit to shop, it's almost prohibitive because of lack of convenience, infrastructure, and safety. Most of the restaurant, entertainment, and shopping areas are two miles or more away, so you are forced to have a car.

I have come to realize that if the Wasatch Front is going to be able to sustain the growth they clearly want, then our leaders and city planners need to take some inspiration from Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes in order to share water resources, ensure clean air, and accommodate the population.

In general, they need to believe that these issues are real and we already need solutions now.

What do you see as the greatest environmental threats to the Wasatch Front?