“If you’re paying attention, this is the slide that should keep you awake at night,” said Ben Woolf, pointing to a graph of water demand and supply in Washington County over the next 50 years.
A green-dotted “demand” line climbed at a steep angle, while a dark blue “supply” line barely rose across the projector screen — a visual warning about just how far the region’s water needs are projected to outpace supplies
Woolf, a deputy area manager with the Bureau of Reclamation, was presenting on the federal review process now underway for a key part of southwest Utah’s future water reuse system — the region’s hope for changing its grim water supply outlook — at a public meeting in Hurricane last week.
Even with the district’s conservation efforts, Woolf said, the area could see a wide gap between water demand and supply.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Washington County is Utah’s hottest and driest region, Woolf said. It also has one of the fastest-growing populations in the country. That combination has forced the Washington County Water Conservancy District to find ways to shore up its supply. More than half of the district’s new water will come from treating and reusing wastewater, according to its 20-year plan.
The district is developing its regional reuse purification system in phases, expanding some existing infrastructure and constructing new pipelines, ponds, treatment facilities and reservoirs across the county over the next two decades.
Initially, the treated water will be used for agriculture and other outdoor irrigation uses. That will free up Virgin River water that’s currently sprayed on fields to be treated for drinking water. Once the need arises, the district plans to also build an advanced water purification facility that will purify reclaimed water to drinking standards, the district said.
“We’re not going to build anything until we need it. … If growth increases very rapidly, then we may need it sooner,” said Zach Renstrom, the water district’s general manager. “If growth slows down, then it’ll be pushed off a little ways.”
Renstrom said this is a cost-effective approach so the district can prevent infrastructure from aging before it’s put to use and take advantage of new technology as it evolves.
In late December, the bureau kicked off a months-long environmental analysis of one phase of the project. The reuse system requires federal review because the district has received federal funds and hopes to pipe water across federal lands in the county.
In total, the district estimates the reuse system will cost over $1 billion. The bureau has awarded the district about $22 million from its large-scale water recycling grants program, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, Woolf said.
(Washington County Water Conservancy District) A map of the planned regional water reuse purification system in Washington County.
Other funding sources include $195 million from the Utah Division of Water Resources and impact fees collected on new development in areas the district serves.
The district’s board approved an increase in impact fee rates in December. “Our board has been very adamant that new construction needs to pay for these new projects,” Renstrom told The Tribune in December.
What’s in development
The district will connect pipelines, pump stations and reservoirs across the county. It’s currently working on plans for the eastern and central parts of the system.
The bureau is just beginning the environmental analysis process for the first phase of the central system, which includes upgrading and expanding the existing reclamation facility in St. George, as well as pipelines, pump stations and ponds to transport and store the treated water across the county.
The St. George reclamation facility, along with a water pipeline that runs through St. George, Santa Clara and Ivins, was built in 2006 as part of a water rights settlement with the Shivwits Band of Paiutes.
The facility can currently treat up to 7 million gallons per day, Woolf said. It produces non-potable water that irrigates landscaping at parks, schools, golf courses, government buildings, cemeteries and some residential neighborhoods, Karry Rathje, the district’s public affairs manager, told The Tribune.
The upgrades and expansion of the facility, including a new filter system and a 4.5-million-gallon tank, would boost its treatment capacity to 25 million gallons per day, according to the bureau’s report.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Zach Renstrom at the Washington County Water Conservancy District offices in St. George on Tuesday September 16, 2025.
Daily water use in the county “varies greatly” due to weather, visitation and other factors, Rathje said. On average, the district provides 8.5 billion gallons of potable water and 1.5 billion gallons of secondary water per year, she added.
The bureau is also preparing a final environmental assessment for parts of the eastside system, which will span the La Verkin and Toquerville area, and anticipates releasing it this spring, Rick Baxter, area manager for the bureau, told The Tribune.
The eastside system includes pipelines, ponds and the currently under-construction Chief Toquer Reservoir and nearly-complete Confluence Park reclamation facility.
The Confluence Park facility, being built by the Ash Creek Special Service District, will treat wastewater from La Verkin, Toquerville and Hurricane to be usable for irrigation, but not for drinking, the water district said.
The eastside system also includes an advanced water purification demonstration facility that will serve educational purposes as well as a testing and training ground for a future advanced purification facility, according to the bureau’s environmental analysis.
Federal review process
Michelle Peot, a board member of the Leeds Domestic Waterusers Association, would like to see more studies and groundwater management plans in place throughout Washington County.
“We want to make sure that the hydrology is well understood because we have concerns about things like aquifer recharge,” Peot said. “The hydrology is very complicated in this area.”
Peot said that “given the magnitude of the project,” the bureau should develop a more thorough environmental impact statement rather than a simpler environmental assessment. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, federal agencies must prepare an environmental impact statement if an action will significantly affect the environment.
Comment opportunities have closed for the eastside environmental analysis, but the review process has just begun for the central system, and the first comment period is open through Jan. 23.
Details on how to share your thoughts are on the district’s website.