ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — A new policy in Washington County introduces new requirements and assessments for large water users.
It targets incoming large commercial, industrial, and institutional customers known as CIIs, which include golf courses, data centers, food processing plants, and bottling plants. Previously constructed developments or those with their own water supply will not be affected.
“I think we’ll see a lot of scrutiny for these large applicants to hit all those boxes: to provide a critical need for the community, to create greater economic productivity for water, and to utilize the highest level of conservation initiatives,” said Doug Bennett, the conservation manager with the Washington County Water Conservancy District.
The largest one percent of CIIs account for about half the water use in their areas.
In this new policy, facilities using over nine million gallons a year must be reviewed by an administration advisory committee made up of city leaders and municipal partners. In Toquerville, Virgin, and La Verkin, the threshold is five million gallons.
“This new policy would help us ensure that one city cannot approve an extremely large water user that might impact the water supplies available to their neighboring cities,” said Bennett. “Eight cities share the water supply in Washington County, so there’s a high degree of accountability from one city to the others in every case.”
During the review, projects must serve a critical public interest, use aggressive water efficiency measures, and increase the economic productivity of water use in the region.
To add aggressive water efficiency measures, Bennett said, “You not only expect the typical, like efficient plumbing fixtures and things like that, but you might want to see some high technology approaches that would dramatically reduce our water use.”
One group that is exempt from the policy is hospitals, as Bennett said they require between 30 to 50 million gallons per year but serve a critical public interest.
“It could be something that creates jobs, something that provides an essential service in the community, and I think that scrutiny is going to be up to the committee that reviews them to make a joint decision about what benefits the citizens that we serve and is a worthwhile investment of a large amount of water,” said Bennett.
One of the most common groups that will face this policy is golf courses. St. George has 14 golf courses within a 20-mile radius, and there’s discussion of more on the way. Bennett said each uses at least the 9-million-gallon threshold.
“I think what’s important for any large water user is that they are doing everything they can to manage the resource effectively,” said Bennett. “There’s still plenty of room in the golf industry for us to have effective and functional and desirable golf courses that can operate on a smaller water footprint.”
Washington County relies on the Virgin River Basin for its water supply. The water district says this addresses concerns of large water users disrupting long-term water resources.
“The Virgin River is already completely allocated, so it’s important that we take the water that we have available to us and make very wise decisions about what are worthwhile investments of that water,” said Bennett. “What we’re trying to do is get the most mileage out of the available water supply in Washington County.”
This policy goes into effect immediately.
“You don’t want to overextend your commitments and then find yourself in a quandary because of a drought or inadequate reservoir storage,” Bennett said. “The key to having a strong, vital economy is having a very reliable water supply.”
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