Cottonwood Heights and Holladay residents depend on Salt Lake City's water system for nearly all their drinking water, and that system is under mounting strain from the worst Colorado River drought in recorded history.

The Upper Colorado River Commission announced plans at a special Monday, Sept. 14, meeting to release about 450,000 acre-feet from Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming into Lake Powell by the end of September. The release aims to keep Lake Powell high enough for Glen Canyon Dam to generate hydropower and deliver water downstream, Fox 13 reported.

"The April snowpack was the worst on record and not by a little bit, but by a very large margin," Gene Shawcroft, chair of the Colorado River Authority of Utah, told the commission.

Lake Powell hit a record-low elevation of 3,519.91 feet in August, according to WaterWorld. That left it roughly 30 feet above the 3,490-foot threshold where turbines stop working. On Ferron Creek, a Green River tributary in central Utah, water allocations were cut 75% this year. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Ferron-area farmer Brooks Behling was photographed on his dry alfalfa fields on Aug. 10.

Why it matters here

Cottonwood Heights does not run its own water utility. Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities (SLCDPU) supplies drinking water to about 90% of the city's addresses, according to the city's 2025 Water Use & Preservation Element. Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District (JVWCD) serves the remaining 10%. SLCDPU also provides culinary water to Holladay, where JVWCD has about 300 connections.

Residents already pay a premium. Cottonwood Heights and Holladay customers pay 35% more for culinary water than Salt Lake City customers, according to Cottonwood Heights City Council minutes from June 16. The gap exists because Salt Lake City residents pay a property tax to the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy that county residents do not.

The city's own projections show demand pressure building. Cottonwood Heights' population is expected to grow from 33,594 in 2024 to 41,878 by 2050. At current usage of about 179 gallons per person per day, annual demand would climb from roughly 6,736 acre-feet to 8,397 acre-feet.

Conservation steps already underway

The Cottonwood Heights City Council voted 5-0 on June 2 to pass Resolution 2026-33, urging residents to limit lawn watering to twice a week. Mayor Gay Lynn Bennion and council members Matt Holton, Suzanne Hyland, Shawn E. Newell and Ellen Birrell all voted yes.

Public Works Director Matt Shipp drafted the resolution after SLCDPU issued a Tier 2 restriction letter. The city cannot enforce the limits. Because Cottonwood Heights does not provide water directly, it cannot monitor usage. City Attorney Shane Topham said in June that if conditions worsened, the council could pass an ordinance banning outdoor watering during certain hours.

The council also cut the Mountview Park Splash Pad to weekend-only hours in May after learning the facility uses about 13 million gallons a year, costing the city roughly $40,000 annually.

Bigger picture

Upper Basin states, including Utah, do not face mandatory federal cuts yet. But the Bureau of Reclamation announced in August that California, Nevada and Arizona must collectively reduce Colorado River use by 1.25 million acre-feet per year in 2027 and 2028, according to the Associated Press. The bureau's new 10-year framework includes up to 200,000 acre-feet of voluntary conservation per year for Upper Basin states.

No Cottonwood Heights or Holladay council agenda item addressing the Flaming Gorge release has been scheduled. Residents can raise water supply questions at the next regular Cottonwood Heights City Council meeting.