SALT LAKE CITY — To help with southwestern Utah's rapid and massive population growth, the Washington County Water Conservancy District is now proposing a $1.3 billion water reuse project.
"Part of it’s just out of sheer necessity," said Zach Renstrom, the water district's manager. "One of the fastest growing, we’re also located in the driest part of the state."
On Thursday, Renstrom and other members of the district appeared before the Utah Water Resources Board to ask for $195 million in initial funding for the project, which would be completed in phases by 2042. But if it is successful, it could lead to as much as 25% of Washington County's entire water supply being reused.
"In the desert, water’s just too precious to use once. What we’ll do is take that water and use it, treat it to extremely high standards and then we’ll reuse it again," he said Thursday. "That’ll be the future of Washington County for generations to come."
Renstrom first spoke of plans to lean into water reuse last year in an interview with FOX 13 News as the water district prepared to get more aggressive with conservation measures as Utah and other states deal with declines in Colorado River water (Washington County uses water from the Virgin and Santa Clara rivers, tributaries of the Colorado River). This is the first glimpse of the scale of the proposal and the cost to make it happen.
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The project involves building three new reservoirs for storage, more than 60 miles of pipeline and implementing new technology to treat wastewater. By 2030, the water district plans to complete phase one of the project (about $413 million in cost) and target agriculture, the state's top water user.
"We do have city parks, we have farmers, so we’re going to do some exchanges with them," Renstrom said. "This water is treated to a high level, it’s safe for human contact, it’s safe to put on crops. But for drinking water, it’s a higher standard for drinking water. So we’re going to the easier thing first, but eventually we’ll get to drinking water."
Reusing water for drinking water sources is expected to be completed in phase two by 2042. Water reuse is relied upon heavily in many communities across the country, including Las Vegas and Los Angeles. In the St. George area, some parks, golf courses and even newer developments are recycling their water.
"What’s funny is some of the bottled water that people buy off the store shelves is reuse water," said Renstrom. "It’s around, it’s proven technology, but it’s expensive to put in the infrastructure."
The $1.3 billion price tag for the entire project certainly got the attention of members of the Water Resource Board. The Washington County Water Conservancy District is getting federal grants, loans and other funding sources to make it a reality. In Thursday's meeting, they also acknowledged some may see a rate increase (though Washington County does have an aggressive tiered rate system for water users that other communities are starting to copy to force more conservation).
One environmental group told FOX 13 News it is supportive of what the water district is doing.
"It’s a great thing for this area," said Karen Goodfellow with Conserve Southwest Utah. "There’s no cheap water available anymore. There’s no new, cheap water, so we’re going to have to spend a lot of money to be able to supply and secure water for the future."
Goodfellow said conservation groups will be watching the project to ensure it protects natural resources and complies with environmental laws. They also want to ensure aggressive conservation practices in the state's fastest growing and most desert region.
"You moved here for a reason to live among the red rocks and the desert," she said. "We need to reflect that in how we’re living."
While the project will reduce how much is going into the Virgin River, which the St. George region relies upon for water, Renstrom said it will not impact the delicate negotiations under way when it comes to the Colorado River.
"It’s undisputed this is Utah’s water, and that Utah can use this water. That is not part of any of the negotiations going on," he said.
The water reuse project, combined with conservation measures, is also delaying another controversial project to get water into southwestern Utah.
"With the Lake Powell Pipeline? This is all pushing that project out farther and farther to future generations," he told FOX 13 News.
The Water Resources Board voted unanimously to support the project.
"I love this project because I do think it’s that same vein of stretching water resources, and I think that’s pretty cool to see," said Brian Steed, the Great Salt Lake Commissioner, who also serves on the board.
While water reuse is considered good for southern Utah, that is not the case in the northern part of the state. Steed, who is tasked by Utah political leaders with reversing the Great Salt Lake's declines, has warned it is a bad idea in this region because the goal is to get more water into the lake. In fact, the Utah State Legislature has recently passed new laws restricting water reuse in the Great Salt Lake Basin.
This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver
