ST. GEORGE — After nearly six months of work, amendments to the city’s water conservation and landscaping ordinances were unanimously adopted Thursday by the St. George City Council.
The revised code impacts new construction moving forward and is considered a way to help the city stretch its finite water supply. Included in the new code are requirements for new homes to be outfitted with energy-efficient appliances and water-wise fixtures. The size of allowable landscaping on a parcel of land is also capped. Restrictions on commercial properties include the elimination of ornamental, “non-functional” turf.
“I think we have the best water ordinance out there,” St. George Mayor Michele Randall said following the unanimous vote Thursday.
The council had been poised to pass the amended code two weeks ago but chose to table the vote instead due to some lingering concerns. Those concerns primarily dealt with the process of how developers would go about getting a guarantee of a water connection from the Washington County Water Conservancy District.
That guarantee would come in the form of a will-serve letter from the water district. The city requires developers have a will-serve letter in order to get their projects approved.
Due to the need to amend its current policy to include the will-serve letters – a process that could take up to six months – the water district said it wouldn’t begin issuing the letters until the start of next year. This caused some confusion among council members and builders and resulted in the amended ordinance adoption being tabled.
The process was eventually ironed out and resolved to the satisfaction of the council.
“It appears that tonight we were able to resolve the concerns of the council and the ordinance was passed,” City Manager Adam Lenhard said.
The amended code has its origins in a water summit held by the water district last fall. Elected officials from the municipalities served by the district attended and discussed the need for additional water conservation measures in the wake of extreme drought conditions the region was facing.
Discussion of revised water conservation ordinances was had at the time, which also led to a basic draft being sent to the county’s cities for review, revision and finally adoption. Water district officials have said the goal of this was to create a somewhat more uniform water conservation plan among the county’s municipalities.
Santa Clara and Washington City were among the first cities to adopt the water conservation and landscaping revisions with their own specific tweaks. Hurricane, Ivins and other cities also followed suit.
For its part, St. George officials chose to enact a six-month ban on the approval of any new car washes or similar water-use heavy enterprises so city staff could take the time to look over the water district’s proposed ordinance revisions and find ways to implement them.
“This is something the city has been working on for several months now,” Lenhard said. “We recognize that water is the most important asset that the city has and it’s extremely important to the long-term future of our community.”
Water is also important to local business and the economy, the city manager said, adding that it is estimated that one-third of the jobs in the city are related to development and construction. If the water runs out, a part of the economy it supports – namely growth – is likely to go with it.
While the revised code details water-saving requirements for new construction, Lenhard said there are penalties included for “egregious cases of water waste.” Depending on the severity of the issue, this can result in hefty fines and the offender’s water being shut off.
“We hope to avoid that,” he said, adding the City Council would rather educate city residents about how to save water more effectively than being water enforcers.
As the council meeting wrapped up, Lenhard repeated how pleased he was to see the revised water conservation ordinances adopted by the council.
“I think this is a great step,” he said. “It’s a great step for the city and a great step for Southern Utah. I think it reflects the importance that water has to our community and our responsibility to use it wisely and be good stewards of that resource. It also strikes a really good balance between government regulation and the private property owner and all of us as consumers of water.”
Elements of St. George’s proposed ordinance that were adopted Thursday can be found in the slides below, courtesy of the city of St. George and CEC.
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