Ivins • In talking about water conservation, Washington County Water Conservancy District general manager Zach Renstrom likes to recall a conversation he had with a homebuilder several years ago.
He remembers conversing with the builder about what could be done to ensure an adequate water supply while the man’s wife — who was clearly bored with the topic — was busy texting on her phone. Her inattention changed, however, when the topic of grass came up.
“One option is we just pay you to rip out the grass in your yard,” Renstrom recalled telling the builder. “His wife looked up and said, ‘I’ll be damned if you rip out my grass so another Californian can move here.’ "
Renstrom’s story reinforced one of the central themes sounded at Ivins City’s Water Talkabout Wednesday night — the need to educate people and foster a water-conservation mentality. Not promoting that mindset and more aggressive action, Renstrom and other experts attested at the crowded event at Rocky Vista University, could have dire consequences.
During his presentation to residents, Ivins councilman and self-professed data nerd, Mike Scott, wasted little time getting to the heart of the matter — whether or not the fast-growing county has sufficient water to keep growing.
Evidently, it’s not an easy question to answer.
On the one hand, Scott noted, the water district’s impact study indicates that it used 99% of its available water supply in 2022, most of which comes from the Virgin River Drainage, and could run out of water for growth sometime this year. At the same time, the district also says it has enough water to accommodate several more years of growth.
The truth might lie somewhere in the middle due to a mixture of new water sources on tap, better conservation measures and planned capital improvement projects. Scott said the district’s master plan has several water projects planned over the next decade that could “produce about 4,000-acre feet,” enough for an additional 7,000 homes in the region.
Another possible source, Scott explained, is the plan’s call to build 18 major capital projects — none of which are scheduled yet — over the next years at a cost of $400 million. Scott said stricter conservation measures could add to the total of new homes allowed.
“Based on past trends and expectations, it looks like we could add about 12,000-acre feet a year between now and 2035, he said, adding it would free up enough water for another 20,000 homes.
Finally, the councilman added, establishing a reuse system that would enable the district to recycle between 22,000 and 34,000-acre feet per year and use that amount as a secondary water source for outdoor use, which could save enough water for another 40,000 to 60,000 homes.
Scott derived the data for his presentation from the water district and the United States Geological Survey.
Citing the district’s master plan during his presentation, Renstrom said the demand for water could slightly exceed the supply by 2028, but added the district hoped to fill or eliminate that gap with reuse water and to push the demand down through aggressive conservation measures.
One project in the pipeline that could help shore up the district’s supply is the Toquer Reservoir, a 115-acre, 3,648-acre-foot body of water under construction as part of the Ash Creek Project. Two small reservoirs — each between 2,000 and 5,000 acre-feet are in the design phase. One of them is Dry Wash, which will be located in Ivins near Kayenta, and the second is Graveyard, which will be situated between Ivins and Santa Clara and store treated wastewater.
As for the Lake Powell Pipeline, Renstrom said it is still part of the district’s long-term plan, even though many experts say Lake Powell’s historically low water levels and the Colorado River’s greatly reduced water flows make construction of the 140-mile pipeline extremely unlikely.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Ivins Mayor Chris Hart touted local conservation measures. While most measurements show cities in Washington County use more gallons per capita per day (GPCD) than Las Vegas and many other western cities, Hart said that is misleading because there is no standardized formula for determining the GPCD, which makes it hard to compare cities in different states, many of which use different formulas.
A more useful measure, the mayor continued, is average household use. He said using that measurement shows the average household use of water in Ivins and Las Vegas is the same.
“Since the year 2000, Ivins city has reduced its per capita use of [water] by … almost 40%, and we’re committed to adding another one percent to that every year for the next 10 years,” Hart added.
District officials have implemented a number of conservation measures, including a restrictive water ordinance that requires more water-efficient fixtures on new homes, restricts the use of nonfunctional grass on new commercial and industrial developments and limits the amount of grass allowed for new homes under construction.
There is also the Water Efficient Landscape Rebate, which pays businesses and homeowners up to $2 per square foot to scrap and replace grass with more water-efficient landscaping, with a maximum available rebate of $50,000.
Ivins and other cities in the district are also in the process of raising water rates to give users more of an incentive to conserve and are implementing more effective leak detection and repair measures, just to name a few.
Ed Andrechak, vice president and water program manager for Conserve Southwest Utah, lauded the district for what it has done but said much more needs to be done — and quickly. He said the district must be more aggressive in the near term about pricing its water to discourage demand and advocated for more action and education to help residents in the area develop a “water conservation culture,” which he said was crucial if the county will have enough water to continue to grow.
Wednesday’s meeting, which involved presentations from experts and elected officials and included a question-and-answer session, was the first in a series of interactive events Ivins is hosting over the next few months to address crucial issues confronting the city. Future meetings over the next few months will address housing, finances and commercial growth.
