SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s capital city is seeking to cut down on nonresidential water consumption, but the measure might fend off the development of an immigrant detention center on the city’s west side.
The Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance amendment that caps any new nonresidential development that consumes or uses at least 200,000 gallons of potable water per day on average for at least the next 180 days, before a long-term ordinance might extend that further.
It comes as the city expects a sub-60% snowpack runoff this spring, but city leaders say it would also prevent the development of a large-scale facility like a detention center. A 7,500-person detention facility on the city’s west side would likely use 1 million to 2 million gallons of water every day, said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall…