ST. GEORGE — Following its own requests and recommendations to municipalities to create and pass stricter water conservation ordinances, Washington County adopted its own on Tuesday afternoon during a County Commission meeting.
“It would be unfair for us to ask everyone to do something and we didn’t,” Washington County Commissioner Gil Almquist said. “So we’re doing our part.”
Washington County officials hosted a water summit last fall at the Dixie Convention Center that outlined various recommendations and guidelines for the county’s municipalities to consider and adopt related to water conservation.
The intent of the summit was to help spur the creation of relatively uniform water conservation ordinances across the county, Commissioner Adam Snow said.
“With this, we’re able to divide the pie up – the pie of all available water – into small slices,” Snow said. “It allows us to continue some growth, but with some more reasonable water consumption for that new growth.”
Santa Clara was among the first cities to adopt a revived water use ordinance that incorporated suggestions shared during the summit. This included reducing the amount of allowable grass for new development, imposing how much water new car washes can use per vehicle and so on.
St. George and Washington City officials still are considering aspects of their own proposed water use ordinances.
Prior to its adoption, elements of Washington County’s own revamped water-use ordinance were highlighted by Deputy County Attorney Devin Snow.
The ordinance only applies to new construction in the unincorporated parts of the county, and does not impact existing homes and businesses, he said.
New development will be required to have water-efficient water fixtures and appliances of the “WaterSense” variety. Recirculating pumps also will be required as a part of a new development’s water system.
Allowable lawn sizes will be based on lot size and also require a minimum number of shade trees to be on the property to prevent a potential “heat island” effect.
“Because the county has a lot of lot sizes, the grass limitations in these code provisions apply only to the 1-acre-foot print of the new dwelling, and not the entire lot,” Devin Snow said.
Any new golf courses in the unincorporated parts of the county also will have to be entirely watered with irrigation, or secondary water.
As for water features, small ones are still allowed under the new code while large ones are not.
“We want to have beautiful communities and beautiful places to live,” Adam Snow said. “We just want to make sure they’re using water wisely and efficiently. … Water is a very sacred resource right now.”
In other business, the County Commission read a proclamation recognizing April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Related to this was the approval of a charitable land-lease agreement between the Friends of the Washington County Children’s Justice Center and Intermountain Healthcare for a lot of ground next door to the Washington County Children’s Justice Center.
The lease allows the Children’s Justice Center to expand onto a dirt lot next door. The center’s director, Kristi Pike, told St. George News they hope to break ground for the expansion later this year.
Also during the meeting, Washington County Sheriff’s Sgt. Darrell Cashin was recognized for serving 20 years with the Sheriff’s Office. He is also the liaison for the Washington County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and has served in that capacity for many years.
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