There are ways to monitor underground water leaks and stop them immediately

Underground water leaks can result in stratospheric bills and enormous water waste. Still, cities often take the time to educate the public while publicizing their water conservation efforts. According to the South Salt Lake Water Department, my underground leak started on July 6th.

I'll spare you the tension. They notified me almost two months later, on August 28th! At this point, I had already reported the leak myself on August 23rd after a wet spot suddenly appeared between the sidewalk and the street.

We live in a very dry state and on paper South Salt Lake is very interested in conserving water. Its website says the city has switched to electronic meters to ensure real-time monitoring. Someone must have been asleep at the counter. Two months doesn't seem like real-time monitoring. It's inexcusable! 170,000 gallons later (77,000 in July and 93,000 in August) I'm looking at a huge bill. For comparison, my normal monthly water usage (June-September) is 17,000 gallons. Imagine how much water is wasted due to underground leaks on the Wasatch Front. Either water is a precious resource or cities are incredibly hypocritical and too eager to take our money while preaching environmental protection.

Fortunately, the solution already exists. The Jordan Valley Water District allows customers to set notification preferences for excessive water use on the jvwcd.org website. Once these preferences are exceeded, an email notification will be sent. Customers can also view a dashboard of their daily water usage at mywater.jvwcd.org.

Water authorities should be required by the state to do the same: set up automatic notification systems based on their customers' preferences; closely monitor excessive water use; and notify customers within days, not months, rather than paying lip service to environmental protection.

Elena Cook, Salt Lake City

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