March 22, 2022
St. George was settled in 1861 as a barren desert with little to no water sources. Fast forward to 21st century St. George is booming and an average resident uses over 300 gallons of water a day. This is extremely high compared to Americans across the board that only use an estimated 90 gallons a day. Water conservation has been a big topic for St. George Deputy Attorney, Jami Brackin.
St. George has put a 6 month pause on allowing new car washes to be approved, as well as recreation and entertainment centers in the St. George area. ” This is in response to concerns individuals have about the drought condition and the lack of moisture,” said Brackin. As large sources of water consumption, car washes were obviously targeted. On average a car going through a local car wash uses around 20 gallons of water. Council woman Natalie Larsen says that most car washes use a water reclamation system that allows them to reuse up to 70% of their water, yet homeowners who use their own hoses use around 160 gallons of water.
” We obviously want to get a lot of input, as much as we can and have it based on data as much as we can and hopefully come up with standards and best practices in the future,” stated Bracken. Water conservation is being put under the spotlight to try and disperse water consumption. Conservation efforts have been geared towards new development of car washes but long-term residents accustomed to using as much water as they please will likely need to cut back as drought conditions continue.
St. George Mayor, Michele Randall addressed the issue saying “The thing is we’re going to look at everything, just everything, that includes looking at every heavy-water user in the city, continuing work on a new water conservation ordinance, reexamining water rates, continuing the removal of non-functional turf on city property and converting to more efficient irrigation methods.“It all has to be on the table,” she said.
Todd Adams, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources, in a press release states “We’ve seen how implementing water conservation strategies can delay large-scale infrastructure projects,” Todd Adams, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources, said in a press release. St. George is currently growing at a blistering pace. Annually St. George is growing at 2.62%. The population has increased by 33.08% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 72,897 in 2010 which spans over 77 miles. St. George conservation says that the city provides over 40 Million gallons of water a day to its customers. These two statistics put together, if not put in check, will run the water dry in the St. George area. Residents will cease to be able to move into St. George if this problem continues. There will be no more water. The city has put in place time zones that residents can use water to avoid as much evaporation as possible. The temporary ban on car washes is just the start to a long process of water conservation to aid and assist in water conservation efforts in the St. George area.