ST. George — A recent climate conversation at Utah Tech focused on water and its conservation.
Last Thursday in the Browning Resource Center's Danford Auditorium, PBS Utah's Liz Adeola hosted “Conservation Conversations,” providing pre-submitted student questions and occasionally chit-chatting. Soothed the crowd.
“We have received a lot of questions from students here at Utah Tech, and we will use those questions to guide this conversation,” she said.
The panel of regional experts included Doug Bennett of the Washington County Water Authority, Karen Goodfellow of the Southwest Utah Conservancy, and Scott Taylor of the St. George Water District.
The questions submitted by the students provided the panelists with a series of narratives that allowed them to provide context between their answers.
Panelists discussed the following topics:
- How does tourism impact water use?
- The need to improve water conservation in places such as car washes and residences.
- Replace grass with drought-tolerant plants.
- The amount of water a golf course uses.
- How to reduce water usage.
- The idea is to charge more water if you use a lot of water, in order to encourage people to save money.
Each panelist knew the questions well in advance and the tone was informative yet conversational.
Goodfellow, vice president and water team manager for Conserve Southwest Utah, has a degree in marine geology and is currently an environmental activist who teaches oceanography at Utah Tech University. By the way.
She talked about the first point she raised about tourism being an economic necessity for St. George.
“In fact, Sand Hollow was Utah's most visited state park. 1.4 million visitors visited Sand Hollow,” she said. “When a big event takes place in the city, her total water usage increases by 10-20% in a single day.”
Goodfellow's fundamental argument is that infrastructure needs to be strengthened and visitors need to change their cultural attitudes toward water conservation.
Taylor, director of water services for the city of St. George, said he brings a local perspective. With more than 50 years of experience in St. George's, Mr. Taylor's career has ranged from civil engineering on local projects to overseeing the city's drinking water, irrigation water and wastewater treatment.
Taylor asked a question with a more complicated answer than he originally thought. “Is there a shortage of water?”
Taylor disagrees, pointing to the Washington County Water Conservation District's 20-year plan to support regional growth as one reason the water won't run out. This set of implementations of the plan is expected to contribute to his 75% of the required water supply.
Bennett, conservation manager for the Washington County Water Authority, worked as an assistant professor at New Mexico State University and later led conservation programs at the Albuquerque and Southern Nevada Water Districts. He currently lives in Ivins.
He talked about water-intensive options like Airbnb, which uses a lot of water for landscaping. Building on his experience in Las Vegas, he suggested that these impacts could be mitigated through more efficient use of land and water through higher density lodging and reduced landscaping.
Bennett emphasized that while there are many car washes, it's up to the individual to decide when to wash their car. He said most car wash operations are highly efficient because they utilize water reuse techniques and adhere to standards that limit water use to 35 to 40 gallons per vehicle. The numbers can be improved by good car washing habits at home.
Members of the crowd countered that a subscription model that would allow laundry to be done multiple times a week is being explored. Research shows that this increases the frequency of car washes, which in turn increases water contamination. Bennett once again dispelled that notion.
Additionally, Taylor said the City of St. George has taken steps to mandate a certain level of efficiency in an already saturated market, requiring new car washes to meet a 35-gallon-per-vehicle standard. He added that there is.
Panelists agreed that domestic water used for landscaping is terribly wasteful, but has the biggest impact on water usage.
Bennett said eight different agencies are monitoring the situation. He promoted an alternative to traditional lawns made from natural greenery that consumes four times as much water as the same amount of plants.
He cited successful voluntary changes by landowners that have saved millions of gallons of water, and said converting non-functioning grasslands to water-smart landscaping was the most cost-effective option in the 20-year plan. He said that it is a highly effective water conservation measure.
Goodfellow suggested that higher density housing could ultimately lead to lower water use per unit.
While on the theme of wasted lawns, panelists and some in the audience found themselves engrossed in a discussion of the intricacies of water conservation on golf courses.
The county has 14 golf courses that together consume 12 percent of the county's water resources, amounting to 177 million gallons per year, eight times the national average.
However, golf courses serve as an important driver of tourism and hospitality in the region.
Innovative conservation strategies are being implemented, including removing turf grass, optimizing watering schedules, and installing artificial turf in specific areas. Although these measures have reduced water usage, a solution remains elusive.
“Conservation work is not over,” Goodfellow said.
One of the creative solutions discussed was the use of GPS devices to track golfers' movements throughout the course. This data allows course managers to identify low-traffic areas where water usage can be minimized without impacting the golf experience.
Goodfellow cited the rise of individualism as another factor in unsustainable water use. She emphasized that a return to the cooperative spirit of the pioneers could help sustain St. George.
This has shifted the conversation about conservation to the important issue of money.
Goodfellow said that while water is a right, there should be tiered pricing to target excess water use, especially by people who consume significantly more than average consumption. These meters are already being installed in new homes.
Bennett agreed, pointing to the political and social challenges of extending such surcharges to residents of older homes and longtime community members.
They laid out current plans for how to subsidize those who use less water with higher costs imposed on excessive consumers.
Maria O'Mara, executive director of Utah PBS, said she felt the forum's goals were squarely met.
“We did exactly what we wanted to do, which is engage the community on many levels,” O'Mara said.
The questions were asked by students, but overall most of them were older people. Still, the venue was full.
“The turnout was great,” she said. “I also really liked that we were open to questions from the students. They gave us a resounding answer that water is what they care about.”
PBS Utah is a statewide service, and O'Mara said he cares deeply about southern Utah and St. George. We hope to continue installing panels like this in the future.
“We are a service to you,” she said. “We are very careful.”
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