Parowan council debates education, enforcement and one‑day schedule as PI supplies tighten

Parowan’s council and staff held an extended discussion about the city’s pressurized irrigation (PI) system and how to manage the 2026 season amid severe drought and uncertain runoff.

Dan (speaker S10) and Aldo (speaker S18) outlined system mechanics and limits: the city takes 25% of the flow at the forebay, which primarily settles sand and provides only days, not months, of supply. Dan recommended a two-track approach before considering a permanent reduction to one-day-per-week watering: ramped-up public education on watering schedules and best practices, plus graduated enforcement that begins with texts and reminders and increases to door hangers and ordinance enforcement if needed. "We're proposing that we make it very clear to everybody what the watering schedule is," Dan said, stressing education before punitive measures.

Councilmembers and staff discussed a color-coded (green/yellow/red) forebay monitoring dashboard to guide when to switch watering regimes and noted the city does not control Yankee reservoir releases, which govern much of the system's inflow. Several councilmembers warned that one-day-a-week alone would not 'store' water because the system lacks multi-month storage; the group agreed to emphasize education, daily monitoring via Yopify notifications, and to consider an action item if conditions worsen. Staff will return with options, cost estimates for SCADA controls and potential storage projects for future budget consideration.