[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6613156,"mediaKeyId","2876534-eef1ebff2031d066263003e65b46dd1d","parentId",2876534,"title","Water district proposes voluntary ultra‑efficient home standard to cut per‑household water by about one‑third","audioSeconds",492,"startMs",118000,"endMs",610000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2876534-eef1ebff2031d066263003e65b46dd1d&start=118&end=610","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2876534-eef1ebff2031d066263003e65b46dd1d/thumbnail_118000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6613156/Ivins/Washington-County/Utah/Water-district-proposes-voluntary-ultraefficient-home-standard-to-cut-perhousehold-water-by-about-onethird","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6613156-4d3d6df14a37642bb1a144aab51b7bc8/orig.mp4?Expires=1771220050&Signature=PyrFTApZarJiRXNCcCNJglJv-CUqeBUASYlQBdhZyJ~RiNgnTzPkNcW7NAJh2OvGqtaZzaeFLvDwXI0EUzzpDrXrw~vciFb8gxrXePlqAFZPf9iapIrqayIitlB8wcBgF7QHs8s-ACiqES-ZftR6F~1OC-B00w6f0Jr60bkEtHtJQElWVRHAuUGqMydMjYMb4SLWT~pWA0BMnA9kiPGYVJNJtvxZ29apb69scqd9Xu89FowLGvjRJefZ2V89i3iwxt7znt6Vm1mryI0zxEqXsTS0o-QVtsYAo9RDqMWhv8i95DTBwcPUY6fjqz0LuJnk4UeIQfFKx26GhbU8M6Akgw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Ivins","date","2025-04-03T00:00:00Z","article","Ivins — At a work meeting April 3, Doug Bennett of the regional water district presented a voluntary “ultra water efficient” development standard that would aim to reduce typical household water supply from about 0.59 acre‑feet to 0.39 acre‑feet, or roughly one third less than the prior standard.

Bennett told the Ivins City Council the program is intended to be voluntary and adaptable to both small urban lots and larger rural lots. “The objective of this program was to come up with a design that would encourage new single family homes that would use a third less water than the current standard,” he said. The district would offer reduced regional impact fees as an incentive; Bennett said current impact fees are calculated on a typical 10,000‑square‑foot lot and are currently $13,500, and an impact‑fee study underway is expected to raise fees in the future.

The proposal would pair smaller water allocations with site and landscaping rules. Bennett said houses built to the standard would have no private irrigated lawns, 2,000 square feet allocated for drip‑irrigated plantings or a 25‑foot perimeter “envelope” of landscaping around the dwelling, and would generally use drip irrigation. He said the district prefers developers not provide secondary (non‑potable) systems to these neighborhoods because of cost and maintenance, noting such systems can leak and add expense to developers.

To ensure performance, the standard would require participating neighborhoods to form homeowners associations (HOAs) and include program requirements in HOA governing documents. Bennett said there would be an 8,000‑gallon monthly threshold; homes using more than that would incur the existing post‑2023 surcharge, which Bennett described as $10 per 1,000 gallons in excess.

Indoors, Bennett said, fixtures would be the same high‑efficiency types already in use across the district. He recommended discouraging salt‑based water softeners because they increase salinity in recycled wastewater and add to demand, but he stopped short of a ban: “It's not a hard no,” he said, adding that homeowners would not violate the program rules by installing a softener after purchase.

Bennett also proposed limiting private pools and encouraging community pools. Under the draft approach, a group of 15 homes that enrolled in the program could have a 1,500‑square‑foot communal lawn or a 600‑square‑foot community pool; additional homes would add modest square footage allotments (for pools, Bennett said an additional 10 square feet per home). He said no single body of water would be allowed to be larger than an Olympic swimming pool and recommended separate metering for community water‑play features to track leaks and use.

Bennett presented modeled water bills using St. George water rates to illustrate potential savings. He said a typical 2020 home would have annual water costs of about $665 under older standards, post‑2023 homes would peak at about 20,000 gallons in summer with a roughly $531 annual bill, while homes built to this ultra‑efficient standard would peak at about 8,000–9,000 gallons in summer with an approximate $400 annual bill.

Council members asked questions about market demand and equity. Councilman Anderson asked about the timing of impact‑fee payments; Bennett said his understanding is that impact fees are paid before a building permit is issued and are not sold years in advance for speculative projects. Mayor Hart and other council members pushed Bennett to consider family needs for nearby play space and pointed to pocket‑park designs as one way to provide functional grass within the compact model.

Bennett said home builders he had met were generally receptive and that the district would continue to refine the standard: “Every time I present this, I wind up with one new tweak,” he said.

Next steps include further conversations with developers and tailored adjustments for local conditions; no code changes or votes were requested at the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Ivins - City Council Work Meeting - Apr 03, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","At a work meeting April 3, Doug Bennett of the regional water district presented a voluntary “ultra water efficient” development standard that would aim to reduce typical household water supply from about 0.59 acre‑feet to 0.39 acre‑feet, or roughly one third less than the prior standard.","taxTitle","Ivins, Washington County, Utah","taxId",6018,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6613151,"Regional drought‑contingency survey shows broad support for a common plan; parks and golf courses remain contentious",970,1980000,2950000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2876534-eef1ebff2031d066263003e65b46dd1d&start=1980&end=2950","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2876534-eef1ebff2031d066263003e65b46dd1d/thumbnail_1980000.jpg","/articles/6613151/Ivins/Washington-County/Utah/Regional-droughtcontingency-survey-shows-broad-support-for-a-common-plan-parks-and-golf-courses-remain-contentious","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6613151-1beb42e57dcd13873b24ef38f1483dc9/orig.mp4?Expires=1771220050&Signature=kFU~gTOYTh956vi5NJW1yfIlZ3-AN1gUE-MK7hinJARHmQbHQNTqS2UcVwhWsA7ZLBmd7cI0OonoNPkEqSE42A38W2SV~tvAxB~jOM1ZwZPurxl6-t~Y7BrNeXuyo--RdCubCZft~2GjinigNIU-T8AO4c7ad3nSz5wO8eC30YWL6XPwFqZbk26XApN2yANO51jc102W5qnzSm2R--kB8bIwJSZwYzCrVr9ovwzTj~bbY-onILsv5-LKyfzgCNQd7upqrfy4xkcgf2KN5ZqVg3N5xg3n7IHkWPdi5nNyiN3D0xxH3aGVn6TjlLIsLSgPlQzWBNHZ-5UBlDgPju4mcg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Ivins — Doug Bennett of the regional water district presented April 3 survey results showing broad stakeholder support for a common regional drought‑contingency plan, but he said disagreements persist over when to restrict decorative lawns, how to treat public parks and how to work with the golf industry.

Bennett said the district conducted a two‑phase survey of technical staff, trustees and elected officials across eight partner communities to identify where measures should sit within staged drought responses. The next step, he said, is to present a formal drought‑contingency proposal to the district’s Administrative Advisory Committee on April 23 from noon to 2 p.m.

Survey participation included mayors, city managers and technical advisory members; Bennett said there were 39 city council members across the eight agencies and roughly 56% of those elected officials responded. The survey used four drought stages; Bennett characterized stage 4 as an emergency: “Stage 4 basically means no one can water anything outside. Nobody can wash a car,” he said.

Bennett described areas of consensus and divergence. He said most technical committee recommendations landed in stage 2 (early action) while some elected officials preferred to move certain measures earlier. For example, hand‑watering of plants had been recommended for stage 4 by the technical committee but scored 2.86 among city council members — a sign elected officials favored earlier restrictions in some cases.

On regional coordination, the survey found strong support for equivalent measures across municipalities. Bennett said the consensus average for the statement “all cities in the region should enact equivalent measures during drought” was 8.7 on a 10‑point scale. “I felt like we have consensus here,” he said.

However, the survey showed less agreement on decorative lawns versus parks. “Is it appropriate to restrict the watering of decorative lawns before restricting watering on community parks and athletic fields?” Bennett asked; he said responses ranged widely and contained many neutral “5” answers. Council members raised concerns about equity and access if neighborhood pocket parks were allowed to dry while decorative commercial grass remained watered.

Golf courses emerged as another area needing more discussion. Bennett said golf courses are extremely high water users and that his recommendation was to set percentage‑reduction targets and allow the golf industry to use its expertise to meet those targets, rather than applying the same day‑of‑week watering limits that might be imposed on homeowners.

Bennett also addressed a misunderstanding about municipal reporting. Technical staff said they already compile monthly water‑use numbers and did not want another onerous technical report; elected officials, Bennett said, wanted public‑facing communications so residents can see the city’s conservation actions. “We wanna communicate, but we don't have a need to over communicate the details in every case or cause people additional work in the middle of that,” Bennett said.

Bennett warned of urgency: he said the Santa Clara Basin snowpack was at zero on April 1 and the Virgin River and Santa Clara were both projected to run far below average flows for the year, making planning and staged restrictions more pressing. He said the district’s recommendation is to seek incremental measures early in a shortage and to convene an interagency drought committee to work with the golf industry and to study public sentiment about protecting community recreation areas versus decorative commercial turf.

Next steps the district outlined include the April 23 advisory committee review and additional outreach to golf courses and the public; Bennett said municipalities would still need to adopt any specific codes or ordinances to implement district guidance because the district does not have direct regulatory authority over municipal codes.","Doug Bennett of the regional water district presented April 3 survey results showing broad stakeholder support for a common regional drought‑contingency plan, but he said disagreements persist over when to restrict decorative lawns, how to treat public parks and how to work with the golf industry.","actionData","errors"]

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Water district proposes voluntary ultra‑efficient home standard to cut per‑household water by about one‑third

Regional drought‑contingency survey shows broad support for a common plan; parks and golf courses remain contentious