‘Water is used for everything’: Washington County’s top water manager speaks at economic summit

ST. GEORGE — The importance of water, its conservation and further development was the focus of an address given by Washington County’s top water manager at the What’s Up Down South Economic Summit held in St. George on Wednesday.

Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District, speaks at the What’s Up Down South Economic Summit, St. George, Utah, Feb. 1, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“Water is used for everything,” Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District, told the crowd that packed the Dixie Convention Center’s main ballroom.

Water is essential for food and energy production, industry and development and the general health and safety of the community, Renstrom highlighted as a part of a series of projected slides that accompanied his address.

In terms of economy, the county’s water supply provides a foundation in Washington County from which an estimated $8.3 billion in gross domestic product is generated.

Without water, all of that will come to a “screeching halt,” Renstrom said.

Current state of water

Though the start of 2023 has thus far produced the largest levels of snowpack across the state since the early 1980s, the state and West will likely have to continue dealing with a two-decades-long drought that has been “brutal” in recent years, Renstrom said.

In 2021, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared the drought a state of emergency, which was followed soon after by an appeal to Utahns to pray for rain. Those prayers appear to have been answered, if even over a year after the fact.

“I’d be damned if that didn’t deliver,” Renstrom said as he pointed to the snowpack numbers once more. According to information shared through the presentation, statewide snowpack is nearly 200% above average.

Snow-capped Pine Valley Mountain as seen from the Dixie Convention Center parking lot, St. George, Utah, Feb. 1, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Provided the snow melts at a gradual pace, Renstrom said he is confident that the county will be able to refill its reservoirs, and shared the current water levels of four of the county’s reservoirs: Sand Hollow is at 76% of capacity, while Quail Creek sits at 70%, Gunlock sits at 50% and Kolob sits at 43%.

If the snowpack melts too fast and triggers a flooding event, Renstrom said they won’t be able to capture the water needed to refill these reservoirs. This is because the reservoirs are built off-stream and fed water from the Virgin River through diversion dams and an attached pipe system.

Even with a great snowpack for this time of year, Renstrom said it will take several more years of similar snowfall to overcome the drought.

Recapping projects and policy

Renstrom went on to give a recap of projects and policy the water district has undertaken over the last two years.

This included meeting with the county and municipal governments and working with them to create a common water conservation ordinance for new construction. These ordinances are collectively considered to be among the strictest in the state.

The water district continues to engage in programs aimed at educating the public about water conservation and how it can prolong the county’s water supply. According to the water district, education efforts and other factors helped Washington County save 200 million gallons of water in 2022.

At Sand Hollow Reservoir, Hurricane, Utah, Jan. 25, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Other projects include the water district’s push for a regional reuse water system and a new reservoir being built by Toquerville.

The water district is dedicated to water conservation and development, Renstrom said. The district also plans to invest $80 million into its current and future projects on top of $70 million used in recent years in order to maintain and grow the county’s water supply, he said.

Another project the water district is involved in is pursuing exploratory drilling for deep wells along the Hurricane Fault that local water managers say they believe could supply the county with an additional 12,900 acre-feet of water annually.

The water district also plans to continue a state-sponsored program that helps people replace their lawns with more water-efficient landscaping. The program pays $2 per square foot of turf and has proven to be wildly successful, Renstrom said.

Funding for the turf removal program comes from the state and is administered through local water districts. Due to how well received the program has been, the Legislature is looking at providing additional funding this year.

Regarding the Utah Legislature, which is currently in session, Renstrom said there are up to 25 water bills making their way through the House and Senate. While some of the bills deal more with the preservation of the Great Salt Lake and have little to do with Southern Utah, others are being closely tracked by the water district.

Local challenges

So far, Utah and Washington County have been the beneficiaries of the legacy of good water stewardship that began with the region’s Mormon settlers. Their foresight and the water infrastructure they built laid the foundation for the growth and development the state has enjoyed up to this point.

Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District, speaks at the What’s Up Down South Economic Summit, St. George, Utah, Feb. 1, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

However, now it is the current generation’s turn to continue that legacy in the face of the ongoing “megadrought” and continuing growth across the state. That is why continuing education efforts are important, Renstrom said.

Currently, 10% of the county’s water users use 25% of the water, and that needs to change, he said.

“We want to educate them and give them rebates (for lawn removal) to help them reduce their water use,” Renstrom.

As far as education goes, both Renstrom and state lawmakers have said Utahns have been very receptive when it comes to water conservation practices and so far haven’t needed to resort to heavy punitive measures like fines or shutting off water access.

The topic of enforcement is one tied to an issue Renstrom also addressed – just how far should the government be involved in water regulations? While he said he loves living in a “red” state, Renstrom noted that the “less government” views some people have can pose a challenge to getting people to follow water policy.

However, water use and conservation were a big deal to earlier generations in Utah, he said and cited a St. George City ordinance from the early 20th Century that could fine a resident the modern equivalent of $800 for wasting water.

Getting all the parties together to form a consensus on what measures can be taken to help preserve the water supply can also prove challenging at times, Renstrom said.

At the 2023 What’s Up Down South Economic Summit, St. George, Utah, Feb. 1, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

“We have a plan,” the water manager said, and it requires cities, developers, farmers and regular citizens to come together and not be at odds over water policy.

Renstrom also quoted Brigham Young, who said, “No man has the right to waste one drop of water that another man can turn into bread.”

The county also faces potential challenges related to the Colorado River, particularly if a plan for the river proposed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is implemented.

The plan – which was proposed by California in a letter to the U.S. Interior Department on Tuesday that opposes a plan hashed out by the Colorado River Basin six other states (Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona) on Monday – evidently calls for a reduction in water use by various communities across the West.

This could impact how much water Washington County is able to draw from the Virgin River as it is a tributary of the Colorado River, Renstrom said.

The Colorado Basin States have been trying to come to a consensus on reduced draws from the Colorado River since last summer when the Bureau of Reclamation threatened to mandate cuts if the state couldn’t figure it out first.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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