Cedar City hears public input on 90% draft water-use preservation plan amid long-term supply concerns

Summary

At a public hearing, HAL Engineering’s Ridley Griggs told the Cedar City Planning Commission that per-capita use has fallen but long-term supply could fall short of projected demand; residents urged nonpunitive incentives, demonstration projects and better customer education. The commission will return the draft for recommendation Nov. 18.

The Cedar City Planning Commission on Oct. 21 heard a presentation on the 90% draft Water Use Preservation element of the general plan and public comment calling for education, demonstration projects and equitable rate design.

Ridley Griggs, identified in the meeting as representing HAL Engineering (presentation also referenced the firm name Hanson Allen and Luce), said the state now requires communities to account for how they will acquire and preserve water and that Cedar City’s plan synthesizes prior local work and the commission’s prior feedback. “The law tells us we now have to” account for water supply and preservation, Griggs said, citing recent legislative momentum driven in part by concerns about the Great Salt Lake.

Griggs presented historical gallons-per-capita-per-day data and said Cedar City’s per-capita use has trended downward from 2000 to 2024 and has generally met the state’s subregional conservation goal in recent years. He cautioned, however, that broader supply constraints remain: “Existing demand is between about…

Cedar City hears public input on 90% draft water-use preservation plan amid long-term supply concerns

Summary

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