ST. GEORGE — With a rather dismal outlook for Utah’s water supply continuing into 2022, state lawmakers put nearly $500 million toward water conservation measures of various types during the recent legislative session.
This includes efforts to meter secondary water sources and incentivize turf removal to drinking quality water development projects.
“Utah’s population and economy are exploding but our water supply is dwindling,” Brian Steed, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said in a press release from the Washington County Water Conservancy District. “We have to protect, conserve and develop our water. Doing nothing and running out of water isn’t an option.”
The bills are designed to help bolster water levels in reservoirs throughout the state by reducing demand via grass rebate programs, additional metering of secondary water and watershed enhancement efforts. Statewide water storage is currently below 55% of capacity, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources.
House Bill 121 imposes water conservation requirements on state-owned facilities. It also incentives property owners to replace their non-functional grass with more water-efficient landscaping.
“We’re pretty excited about it,” said Karry Rathje, the communications and government affairs specialist for the Washington County Water Conservancy District.
However, while the bill passed, its implementation is still being worked out, she said, and won’t be fully rolled out until 2023.
It is anticipated that money for the turf-removal incentives – up to $5 million annually – will come from the state’s general fund and be administered through the Division of Water Resources. From there it would be granted to applying property owners through local water districts.
It is estimated that 60% of Utah’s drinking-quality water is used for outdoor watering. Removal of non-functional turf can help decrease that amount and save water overall. Further replacing turf with a more water-efficient landscape also can save on outdoor water use by up to 70%.
“This unprecedented investment in water conservation by our state leaders is music to our ears,” said Zach Renstrom, general manager of Washington County Water Conservancy District. “The water conservancy districts have made great strides in reducing water use throughout the state, but the recent legislation will elevate our efforts.”
The state is also investing $251 million into secondary water metering. Use of secondary water, or irrigation-quality water, has not been widely metered (measured) across the state. Where it has, such as in parts of northern Utah like the Weber Water Basin Conservancy District, a 20%-30% reduction in outdoor watering has been tracked over the last 20 years.
“If we know how much water is there, we can plan better,” said Rathje, adding that while the metering issue largely applies to northern Utah, it “is huge for the state of Utah as a whole.”
Under recently passed legislation, metering secondary water systems now is required under state law. There are exceptions, however. This includes water with levels of turbidity that can actually prove harmful to metering equipment.
Secondary water in Washington County is not among the best quality south of the Pah Tempe hot spring due to the large number of minerals that spring dumps into the Virgin River, Rathje said.
“Turbidity in Washington County has been hard on meters,” she said.
Despite this, efforts are underway in Washington County by various municipalities to better harness and measure their own secondary water use. This includes additional water storage projects being eyed in the Santa Clara area.
According to a press release from Prepare60 (which is made up of Central Utah, Weber Basin, Jordan Valley, and Washington County water districts), outside of the Legislature, Utah’s water conservancy districts have spent $355-plus million on conservation programs. This has resulted in more than a 20% reduction in the state’s per capita water use since 2000, despite an almost 58% increase in population.
Following is a list of 2022 water conservation and appropriation-related bills compiled by Propare60:
Water Conservation Bills
HB 33 | Instream Water Flow Amendments |
HB 37 | State Water Policy Amendments |
HB 39 | State Construction Code Amendments |
HB 121 | Water Conservation Modifications |
HB 131 | Watershed Restoration Initiative |
HB 157 | Sovereign Lands Revenue Amendments |
HB 160 | State Resource Management Plan Amendments |
HB 168 | Preference of Water Right Amendment |
HB 177 | Water Well Amendments |
HB 232 | Utah Lake Authority |
HB 240 | Utah Lake Amendments |
HB 242 | Secondary Water Metering Amendments |
HB 282 | Water Use Landscaping Amendments |
HB 410 | Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement |
HB 423 | Department of Agriculture and Food Amendments |
HB 429 | Great Salt Lake Amendments |
SB 89 | Water Amendments |
SB 110 | Water As A Part of General Plan |
Additional Appropriations Related to Water Conservation
HB 157 | Great Salt Lake Account – Watershed |
HB 2 | Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake Studies |
HB 2/SB 3 | Agricultural Water Optimization |
SB 3 | ARPA Rural Drinking Water Projects |
SB 3 | Utah Lake Preservation |
HB2 | Groundwater and Wetlands Management |
HB3-ARPA | Water Development Security Fund |
Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2022 Utah Legislature here.
For a complete list of contacts for Southern Utah representatives and senators, click here.
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