South Jordan's water purification system is pictured. (South Jordan City)
SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — As the drought continues, and more people move to Utah, South Jordan is looking to increase the amount of drinking water available. South Jordan imports 100% and has no local source of its own, but that could change soon.
The city’s Pure Sojo project is working to create recycled drinking water at South Jordan’s new water filtration plant.
“We’re not waiting for a knight in shining armor to figure out water there’s a lot of work being done — great work — at the state level to figure out water but in South Jordan, we know that this reuse project is something that can benefit our residents in the future for generations,” said South Jordan Mayor Dawn Ramsey.
South Jordan’s new filtration facility receives sewer water that has been cleaned to be used for irrigation. Then, the facility takes the water and purifies it again to make it suitable for drinking.
Ramsey said this new system would allow South Jordan to decrease the amount of water it imports from other locations.
“It won’t be pulling water from the Great Salt Lake, it will actually help us use less water from other sources as we continue to grow in this desert state and drought conditions that don’t appear to be easing up anytime soon. We really want to work together with all the stakeholders to ensure that we have adequate drinking water for the growing population coming,” Ramsey said.
The process is only in the demonstration stage. Though the water is drinkable, it will not be distributed to the public at this time.
Pure Sojo is one step forward for the city to create more drinking water for its citizens.