St. George • Now that drought has resurfaced in southwest Utah, local officials are growing uneasy about how long the dry conditions might last and whether there will be enough water on tap to meet the demand.
“We are not hitting the panic button, but we are nervous, no question about it,” said Washington County Water Conservancy District general manager Zach Renstrom. “We’ve had almost no precipitation for quite a while and there is no significant precipitation forecast for the foreseeable future.”
Low snowpack, high anxiety
Currently, more than 55% of Washington County — primarily the southern half of the area — is mired in severe drought, compared with 0% this time last year, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
“In southwestern Utah, the snowpack is less than 40% of normal and the headwaters of the Santa Clara River have almost no snow,” said Jordan Clayton, supervisor of the Utah Snow Survey.
The snow-water equivalent in the Santa Clara River area is 17% of where it should be this time of year, and the upper Virgin River area is not much better at 38% of normal, according to the National Water and Climate Center. In the neighboring Coal-Parowan and Sevier Headwaters areas to the north, the snow-water equivalent is roughly 56% of average.
Besides the lack of rain and snow, drought conditions in the southwest corner of the state have been worsened by several factors. One is the storm track, which has largely bypassed southwest Utah and steered rain and snow to northern Utah.
Another is that the monsoonal moisture that brings rain to southwest Utah in July and August was only enough last summer to whet water watchers’ appetites and left them thirsting for more. Further exacerbating matters, October was the warmest on record in Utah, and temperatures in the St. George area hit a high of 103 degrees one day and routinely hovered in the high ‘80s and mid-90s over the first half of the month.
Still, thanks to wetter-than-normal winters over the past two years, Renstrom said the district’s reservoirs are in fairly good shape despite the drought. Sand Hollow, one of two district reservoirs that supply drinking water, stands at 84% capacity, down a little over 13% from a year ago.
Quail Creek, which also supplies drinking water, is 65% full, an 11.6% decrease from last year, according to district officials. Kolob Reservoir is 45% full, off nearly 12.5% from last year, and Gunlock is now at 49% capacity, compared to nearly 58% a year ago.
“We know we will have enough water for next summer,” Renstrom said. “But the … [drought] is starting to raise some red flags and is something that we are going to be watching closely.”
Conservation shoring up water woes
Renstrom credits conservation efforts for the reservoirs’ existing water supply. For example, Washington County property owners have replaced more than 2 million square feet of grass with more water-efficient landscaping since 2022, which has resulted in annual savings of 90 million gallons.
In addition, Washington County was the first region in the state to ban nonfunctional grass, or “lazy” grass, on all new commercial, industrial and institutional developments. Still, given the current situation, district officials are calling on property owners to do even more.
“With the cooler winter weather, landscaping in the area doesn’t need much, if any, water right now, but some people are still running their sprinklers,” Renstrom said. “The easiest thing people can do to help is turn off those sprinklers.”
Even so, if the drought persists over this winter and next, the anxiety levels would rise as the reservoir levels drop. What’s needed, hydrologists and county water officials agree, is an assist from Mother Nature.
Looking for a repeat
Glen Merrill, senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said that happened a year ago when storms during February and March brought the region’s substandard snowpack to near-normal levels. Alas, he added, a repeat this year seems unlikely.
“For the remainder of the winter, all the [forecasts] are pointing toward northern Utah getting a substantial amount of rain and snow,” he said. “But southern Utah is expected to be drier and warmer than normal.”
Clayton concurs with Merrill’s assessment. Whatever rain and snow the future holds, he said the immediate outlook is concerning. “At this point,” he continued, “we are getting further and further behind.”
