U-talk: Has the ongoing drought impacted how you spend time outdoors this summer?
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- Jorgen Andreasen
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- John Nelson
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- Stevie Brooks
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- Jayce Roby
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- Brian Conners
“It has not. I would honestly say that this summer has been pretty close to a normal summer. So my outdoor activities have not changed all that much, but my activities do not have too much to do with water. I’m usually inside. During the summer, due to my construction job, I do not spend too much of my spare time outside. … If I do do anything outside for the summer, it’s usually going to the local pool or going up to the mountains and hiking in the shade.” — Jorgen Andreasen, Ogden
“Not really at all. I do enjoy spending a lot of time outdoors, going out to the lake. The lake may be lower (but) I still go out there and paddleboard, and the cliffs might be a little taller for me to jump off of. And I do not see the drought keeping me from doing any of those things. … I have been out once this summer, and I like to try and go out to the lake about every weekend.” — John Nelson, Ogden
“I am not really sure, honestly. I guess the reservoirs are drying up, and that might end up impacting swimming and fishing. I like to go swimming up at Pineview and the local pools, so it might affect those things, but I have not gotten the chance to get out there yet this summer.” — Stevie Brooks, Ogden
“Well, obviously, we don’t get to go to as many waterparks and things like that. We don’t have our pool out this summer, so we can save water. And our garden is a lot smaller than it normally is. But other than that there is still a lot of other stuff that you can do without the water. We hike a lot, we have like three lakes within 3 miles of us, there’s Lagoon, just other local things around to do, you know, barbecue. … There’s tons of other things you can do if you get creative.” — Jayce Roby, Ogden
“I don’t know how much it is going to affect my summer activities right now, but I do not think that we are going to have many more summers here where we want to live here. A lot of my friends and co-workers are planning on moving out of state specifically because of everything that is going on. … Like the fear of running out of water, plus the toxic stuff from the lake. Who wants to be here after that, unless we can fix it? I mean, there are a variety of places that are better off with water than we are, specifically here, especially because of the toxic dust, which is being created. I am sure that some of the chemicals comes from the tailings at Kennecott Copper Mine, and tons of chemicals from the earth as well. But, also, I attribute it to people over-farming and diverting water for recreational (uses) that are unnecessary purposes and stuff like that. … I enjoy spending time around the water, especially during the summer. I do a lot of water stuff, actually. Like yesterday, I spent the whole day out paddleboarding on Causey, so I am sure it will affect that kind of stuff.” — Brian Conners, Ogden
Photos and interviews by Adam Rubin, Special to the Standard-Examiner.
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