ST. GEORGE — In less than a day, Hildale City work crews have identified the issues that led to the failure of one of the city’s primary water storage tanks and should have a fix completed later on Friday, said Eric Duthie, Hildale City manager.
“This morning, work crews pulled the Academy Well’s motor and pump and found that the motor and wiring had just worn out,” Duthie said. “We have located replacement parts and are hopeful – if everything goes smooth – we will be back in operation later this afternoon or this evening.”
Thursday evening’s disruption at the Academy Well, which supplies a third of the city’s drinkable water, was projected to affect the production of approximately 200,000 to 275,000 gallons of water per day. Hildale Mayor Donia Jessop has indicated that the malfunction is likely because of issues with a motor or defective wiring.
“This well has been well maintained,” Jessop said. “It’s just one of those things that happen unexpectedly. All we are asking is for people to stop watering outside. That’s it.”
City authorities assured its residents that no other municipal water sources have been impacted and that they anticipate resolving the issues at the Academy Well within a few days, if not sooner.
Despite being an unforeseen, temporary setback, Hildale’s water supply and usual summer-time restrictions have become hot-button topics addressed by city officials.
On June 21, Jerry Postema, the utility director of Hildale City, implemented Stage 2 watering restrictions, which escalated to Stage 3 restrictions on Monday. According to the Stage 3 guidelines:
- Fire hydrant use is forbidden for purposes other than fire protection.
- No use of water for fountains, artificial waterfalls, pools or other ornamental purposes.
- No use of water for water games or to fill or top off swimming pools, hot tubs, etc.
- Culinary water will not be used to irrigate city parks, golf courses or schools.
- Hand watering may occur for a total of 15 minutes per landscaped area.
- Drip irrigation systems, bubbler or soaker hoses may be operated for a total of two hours.
In addition to the Stage 3 restrictions, Hildale residents are also required to comply with Stage 1 and 2 restrictions, which encompass several other constraints. These include:
- No outside sprinkle watering between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- All parks, schools and cemeteries will be allowed to water every other day during permitted hours.
- Residential and commercial water users will be allowed to water every other day, with even-numbered addresses watering on even days and odd-numbered addresses watering on odd days.
- Non-commercial car washing requires using a hose with an automatic shut-off nozzle.
- Use of water for street and driveway washing will not be permitted.
- No planting new grass or sod or other new landscaping.
- Water shall be served at restaurants only upon request.
Although Southern Utah has sweltered under summer temperatures hovering around 100-degrees in the shade, compared to last year, additional water restrictions came later in the season, Postema said.
“This happened because one of our large storage tanks (with a capacity of approximately 600,000 gallons of water) experienced a leak which could not be repaired until May or June last summer,” Postema said. “Everyone has seen the temperatures and know how hot it’s been, and they are out there just trying to keep everything alive.”
If rain remains elusive and Hildale’s hot, dry weather conditions continue, the city may impose Stage 4 restrictions that mandate all previous restrictions, including:
- No watering of lawns.
- No watering of gardens, landscaped areas, trees, shrubs, or other outdoor plants, except by means of a bucket, pail or handheld hose equipped with an automatic shut-off nozzle.
- No use of water for flushing sewers or hydrants by municipalities or any public or private individual or entity except as deemed necessary in the interest of public health or safety and specifically approved by the city.
- No use of fire hydrants by the Hildale Fire Department for testing fire apparatus or for Fire Department drills, except as deemed necessary in the interest of public safety and specifically approved by the city.
Looking long term, Hildale City is mandated by the state to consider various avenues of water conservation.
“We are out there trying to get our residents to try (to) adopt natural landscaping or xeriscaping,” Postema said.
Water experts say that numerous xeriscaping concepts are aptly tailored for distinct regions and cities within Utah. However, it’s crucial, they maintain, to consider the unique needs of each region, as factors such as temperature, rainfall and overall climate can vary across the state. Hildale City, along with St. George, has a hot desert climate with low rainfall and high temperatures. Xeriscaping in this area is widely suggested to focus on using drought-tolerant plants such as cacti, yucca as well as succulents.
“In the long run, xeriscaping or natural landscape alternatives will save people money because they won’t be using so much water to grow something that is not natural to Southern Utah,” Postema said. “Xeriscaping will also help ensure that we have an adequate supply of potable water for our residents.”
In light of the expected prolonged heatwave, authorities in Hildale City have said that should Stage 4 water restrictions be implemented, the availability of the water supply must be prioritized for drinking purposes and use by emergency responders.
Hildale officials have reason for concern.
The summer of 2023 was Earth’s hottest since global records began in 1880, according to an analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies in New York.
In addition to the summers of 2011 and 2012, which were among the sixth hottest ever recorded in North America, the years from 2016 to 2023 accounted for nine out of the top 10 warmest years on record.
According to nearly every available weather model, 2024 is stacking up to beat 2023 and become one of the five hottest years ever recorded. April alone was the hottest April ever recorded globally, with North America notching the second warmest April on record as well as the second hottest January-April.
The most recent National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration climate prediction indicates that temperatures are expected to increase across nearly all regions of the United States throughout the summer. The forecast, covering June through August, suggests a warmer-than-average summer for almost every state.
In Western states, such as Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Colorado, there is a 60% to 70% chance of experiencing above-average temperatures as well as below-average precipitation during the next three months.
City officials will post updates on repairs to the Academy Well at Hildale’s Facebook page when more information becomes available.
UPDATE: July 12, 10 a.m. Article was updated to include the information provided by Duthie about the status of the repair of Academy Well.
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