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Murray's Water Strategy
Murray City, Water Conservation, and the Great Salt Lake
Concern about the declining level of the Great Salt Lake is real and warranted. The lake is critical to the Wasatch Front’s air quality, economy, and environmental health. As attention on this issue grows, it’s important for residents to understand how Murray City’s water use fits into the bigger picture and what the City is already doing.
Where Murray’s Water Comes From
Murray City operates primarily as a groundwater-based drinking water system. Most municipal water comes from deep groundwater wells and is not directly diverted from the rivers and surface waters that supply the Great Salt Lake.
The Great Salt Lake is sustained almost entirely by surface water inflows, primarily from the Bear, Weber, and Jordan Rivers. Large upstream surface water diversions have the most direct and measurable effect on lake levels. While all water use matters, Murray’s municipal drinking water use is not a primary driver of the lake’s decline.
That distinction does not excuse inaction; it ensures conservation efforts are focused where they are most effective.
What Murray City Is Doing
Murray has an adopted Water Conservation Plan and actively participates in regional conservation planning aligned with state water-efficiency goals. The City is also updating the Water Element of its General Plan to ensure long-term water planning is integrated into growth and infrastructure decisions.
The City is currently installing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) on all water meters. Once complete (anticipated in summer 2026) AMI will provide real-time water-use data, allowing for quicker leak detection and better understanding of consumption patterns.
Following full AMI deployment, Murray has agreed to partner with Central Utah Water Conservancy District and a conservation platform called Yoppify to provide customers with leak alerts and targeted conservation messaging based on actual usage.
Landscaping and Outdoor Water Use
Outdoor irrigation remains the largest opportunity for conservation.
Murray supports water-efficient landscaping (xeriscaping) and reduced turf, particularly in new development and redevelopment. Multiple ordinances were adopted by the City Council last year to support these efforts.
The City does not support blanket zero-scape requirements. Poorly designed zero-scape landscapes can increase urban heat, increase stormwater runoff, and reduce soil health. Murray’s focus is on landscapes that are water-efficient, functional, and sustainable.
Landscape incentive programs are largely administered at the regional and state level, and Murray coordinates with those programs rather than duplicating them locally.
What Residents Can Do
- Residents play an important role by, using water responsibly outdoors, fixing leaks promptly, reporting visible water waste, and reducing turf where it does not serve a functional purpose.
The Bigger Picture
Solving the Great Salt Lake’s decline will require coordinated, watershed-scale action, focused primarily on surface water management, alongside continued urban efficiency improvements.
Murray City will continue to manage its water system conservatively and responsibly doing its part while protecting public health, fire protection, and system reliability.
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