Draper's main water supplier spent a record $79 million on infrastructure during one of Utah's worst droughts on record.

The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District (JVWCD), which serves about 800,000 people across Salt Lake County, also imposed its first-ever mandatory conservation measures during fiscal year 2025/26. The district released its annual report detailing a year of historic drought and record spending. JVWCD delivered 110,000 acre-feet of treated drinking water to member cities, including 4,806 acre-feet to Draper City, down from 4,903 acre-feet in FY 2024/25.

District-wide, water deliveries fell 15%, beating a 10% reduction target the board set after activating its first-ever Level 2 Water Availability Status under the Drought Contingency Plan.

Draper's response

Draper City said in an Aug. 7 notice that it had cut water use by 9% in May and 12% in June. The city's partnership with Utah Water Savers offers residents up to $3 per square foot for replacing lawn with water-efficient landscaping, $1 per square foot for switching to drip irrigation and $50 per tree added.

Draper City Manager Mike Barker serves as the city's representative to JVWCD.

Drought conditions

Gov. Spencer Cox declared a statewide drought emergency on May 21 after Utah recorded its warmest winter and lowest snowpack on record. "Our snowpack provides 95% of Utah's water supply," Cox said in the executive order announcement. "This winter, that supply fell far short of what Utah needs."

The annual report described the fiscal year as beginning with below-average reservoir levels and snowpack that never materialized. Mountain streams feeding the Southeast Regional Water Treatment Plant through the Draper Diversion, which collects runoff from five local streams including Bells Canyon and Big Willow, produced just 1,329 acre-feet. That was down from 2,344 acre-feet in FY 2024/25, according to the annual report and the district's drought contingency plan.

To compensate, the district pumped more groundwater: 8,942 acre-feet from Salt Lake County wells, up from 7,532 the prior fiscal year.

Record spending, new leadership

The $79 million capital program completed nearly 90% of planned projects, according to the annual report. The district also performed more than 8,800 asset condition assessments to guide future infrastructure work.

General Manager Jacob Young, who took over after longtime leader Alan Packard retired, said in the report: "We are seeing unprecedented pressure on our water resources and are ready to meet the challenge."

Young has more than 20 years of municipal water experience and previously served three years as the district's deputy general manager. Packard helped double JVWCD's supply capacity from 64,000 to 125,000 acre-feet annually during his tenure.

Conservation gains and limits

Applications for the district's Landscape Incentive Program more than doubled, jumping from about 250 to more than 600. Across all programs, 820,596 square feet of lawn was replaced or prevented, projecting 19.6 million gallons in annual water savings.

Per capita water use fell by just one gallon in 2025, though, after jumping from 168 to 190 gallons per day the prior year. The annual report noted that conservation gains remain fragile when driven by circumstance rather than habit.

The district also updated its retail rate structure to include a high-use surcharge and developed water-use budgets for existing areas and future growth. As of Aug. 27, the Utah Division of Water Resources said monsoon rains had eased some local demand but would not pull the state out of drought, with reservoirs expected to keep declining until irrigation season ends in October.