Water officials warn of historic drought, outline regional reuse, storage plans

Carrie Raske, of the Washington County Water Conservancy District, told the Washington County Republican Women on Feb. 1 that the region is facing an "extremely, severe drought" and that current snowpack sits at about 21% of average. "It is the driest winter on record since 1895," Raske said.

Raske said the district's 20-year water-supply plan relies on additional conservation, reuse, groundwater optimization, agricultural transfers and development of remaining local supplies. She said the district has replaced more than 2,000,000 square feet of grass in the last two years — "about 30% of the grass statewide" replaced under the program — and has passed what she described as "Utah's strictest ordinances for new construction" to reduce new-development water use.

The district is pursuing a regional reuse system that will treat wastewater to a high standard and return it to the system for irrigation, Raske said. She estimated reclaimed water would provide about half the county's needed supply over the next 20 years — roughly 24,000 acre-feet, enough water to serve about 40,000 homes. "This will be a tremendous source of reliable, drought-proof water," she said, describing new reservoirs, pipelines, pump stations and expanded treatment plants as part of the regional system.

Panelists from multiple cities described storage projects tied to the reuse effort. Raske and other speakers said Graveyard Wash Reservoir (Santa Clara area) is expected to start construction this year to store highly treated reclaimed water from the Saint George Regional Water Reclamation Facility. Another new reservoir under construction, Chief Temple Reservoir, was also named as storage for treated water.

During a question-and-answer session, Raske clarified how district contracts interact with municipal approvals. She said the district has a "regional water supply agreement" under which municipalities request water and the district is contractually obligated to provide it if a city approves a development. A member of the audience raised concerns about a private development's earlier statements on its water use; Raske declined to discuss an ongoing complaint in a large group and invited the questioner to speak with her afterward.

Panelists repeatedly stressed the need to prioritize water in planning. Raske said the county's conservation and reuse work is already receiving national recognition. "In a water year like this year, we are 100% living off of infrastructure that was developed for us a hundred years ago," she said, urging continued investment in water infrastructure.

The panel urged residents and local leaders to continue conservation practices and noted that reuse and storage projects are intended to make the county more resilient without relying solely on new surface supplies.