Alpine residents used 10.65% less water between April 15 and Aug. 15 compared with the same period in 2025, the city's Water Citizen Advisory Committee reported at its Thursday, Aug. 27, meeting.

The reduction breaks into two categories: pressurized irrigation dropped 11.2%, and culinary water use fell 6.4%. Committee member Steve Burrows presented the numbers at Alpine City Hall, where four members met for just over an hour.

The committee isn't stopping there. It set a goal of at least 13% less outdoor irrigation usage by Oct. 15, measured against 2025 levels. Three other targets carry a Nov. 1 deadline: more than 50% of metered Alpine households downloading the EyeOnWater leak-detection app, fewer than 500 accounts reporting 24-hour leaks, and total leak volume under 25 million gallons.

The biggest policy push is a proposed conservation-based irrigation fee schedule. The committee wants the Alpine City Council to approve changes to the base rate and usage tiers 3 through 5, effective Jan. 1, 2027. The committee's roadmap calls for council action between September and November. Horrocks Engineering is preparing proposed rate structures, and committee member Sarah Blackwell asked city water staff to include the committee in those discussions.

Blackwell, who also serves on the Alpine City Council, has been driving several action items. She arranged a Monday, Aug. 31, meeting with city water staff to improve leak-notice follow-up for agricultural accounts and a separate Monday, Aug. 31, meeting with Don Quigley in code compliance to discuss how committee volunteers could help send leak notices to residents and businesses.

The committee also laid out a longer-term roadmap. Between December and February, Alpine leaders would determine which of three water-supply scenarios to implement based on actual snowfall and reservoir levels. By April 15, 2027, the city would publish a water management plan with watering schedules and enforcement policies.

When the City Council appointed Blackwell to the committee on April 14, Burrows told the council the group wanted "to identify an educational process to help people want to conserve water."

The committee's next meeting is Thursday, Sept. 24, at 6 p.m. at Alpine City Hall. A Water Education Open House on Sept. 16 will feature Dr. Ben Abbott, a BYU associate professor of life sciences, speaking on how local water use affects the Great Salt Lake.