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One small device may help save half a billion gallons of water in the American West at buildings operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
That’s about how much water it would take to fill 750 Olympic-sized swimming pools, according to a news release.
How do you save 500 million gallons of water?
The church is installing more than 3,000 smart controllers at its properties across the Intermountain West.
That’s the how. Here’s the why:
“Water is a sacred and finite resource,” according to a church FAQ sent with the press release on the project.
Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé has said both the church and its members have a responsibility to safeguard the planet they believe God created for humanity.
“We have received that special responsibility from God to take care of his creations,” he said. “And every one of us, collectively and individually, we have something to do.”
Water is under increasing pressure in the Intermountain West, creating problems for communities and nature.
The church donated 6.5 trillion gallons of water to the Great Salt Lake in an effort to preserve that natural resource in 2023.
That donation was made two months after an emergency warning of “unprecedented” danger to Utah’s public health, environment and economy if the Great Salt Lake did not receive a “dramatic” influx of water by 2024.
Warnings had predicted the Great Salt Lake could disappear within five years, creating an ecological catastrophe.
The church donated 5,700 water shares it had used for agriculture to the lake, the equivalent of more than 15,000 football fields covered by water a foot deep.
The church is encouraging all communities to be wise stewards of the natural resources it believes are provided by God.
The smart controllers can make adjustments based on weather that save water.
Rather than sticking to a fixed schedule of watering, a controller might water in more frequent, short bursts, at inconsistent hours or even during a rainstorm, the press release said.
Those adjustments are designed “to maximize water absorption by plants based on factors such as weather, humidity, and soil composition,” according to the release.
The controllers and the water donation are not the only things the church is doing to conserve water.
Water-wise landscaping has been a part of the church’s plans for 20 years.
The church is phasing out decorative or “nonfunctional” grass at new meetinghouses or renovated buildings, the church release said.
For example, the church is removing nonfunctional grass completely — or significantly reducing it — in notoriously dry southern Utah, Arizona and southern Nevada.
Drought-tolerant grass mixes have also been introduced in some green spaces to reduce water usage.
The church is encouraging its members to report leaking pipes or broken or malfunctioning sprinkler heads to local leaders, as well as to reduce water use on their own properties.
My recent stories
- BYU ranks No. 1 on 3 new Princeton Review lists. Are its students the nation’s soberest sports fans? (Aug. 13)
- Latter-day Saint abuse help line is the best tool for protecting children, church attorney says (Aug. 8)
- Latter-day Saint communications manager asks church members to ‘move off the sidelines’ (Aug. 7)
About the church
- President Russell M. Nelson issued a social media post that framed six ways to be confident in God.
- The church broke ground for the Winchester Virginia Temple.
- The Church of Jesus Christ made a $5.1 million donation to the American Red Cross.
- Here’s the latest collaboration between the church and the NAACP.
- “This is a woman’s church”: A panel including Deseret News editor Sarah Jane Weaver discussed the lived experiences of Latter-day Saint women. Another woman at the same conference called for "a broader vision of gender equality."
- An independent historian and church member donated five artifacts from the church’s early history in Missouri to the Church History Library.
What I’m reading
Studies have largely debunked the idea that there are health benefits to alcohol consumption, and drinking in the United States has hit a new low as health concerns about drinking rise.
Jen Pawol became the first woman to umpire a Major League Baseball game over the weekend. I loved what her crew chief said: “This is one of the proudest moments in all my career,” crew chief Chris Guccione said. “I’ve been blessed with working playoffs, I’ve worked two World Series, All-Star games, and this is right up there. It gives me chills even thinking about it. And the magnitude, it just hit me just now the magnitude of this thing and how hard she’s worked. This is just a great role model for girls and women out there and I’m just so proud of her. This is a special moment. I’m so proud of her.”
Behind the scenes
