St. George begins water efforts

ST. GEORGE — Residents here are being asked to conserve water now that the St. George City Council has enacted the first stage of a Culinary Drought Management Plan.

"This is really in response to the fact that we had little snow and will have no runoff this year," said Renee Fleming, St. George conservation coordinator. "We have good reservoir storage, but we don't want to use it all up in one year."

Under stage-one guidelines, residents and business owners are asked to voluntarily restrict water use by repairing broken pipes or leaking faucets and washing full loads of clothes or dishes, rather than partial loads.

Three mandatory water restrictions are also in effect, with no yard watering between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. When washing a car, the hose must have an automatic shut-off valve so water is not wasted, and washing off sidewalks and driveways is prohibited.

Repeated, egregious violations of the water restrictions could result in a fine, Fleming added.

"So far, when I've contacted people directly, they've been really good about responding to the problem," she said.

Residents are encouraged to keep an eye on water use throughout the city and report any "water-waste observations" to Fleming by e-mail on the city's water-conservation Web site at www.sgcity.org.

St. George and the Washington County Water Conservation District also offer free residential landscape water audits, which take about an hour to complete, Fleming said. Irrigation systems are analyzed and customized watering schedules are developed to help homeowners maintain the health of their yards and reduce the amount of water used.

During Dixie's searing summer months, culinary water use soars. More than 55 percent of the water used by residents during June, July and August goes toward watering yards and gardens, Fleming said.

"We really need to do a better job of being more efficient," she added.

Businesses and public properties that use non-culinary irrigation water are exempt from the restrictions, said Fleming. Among the facilities using irrigation water are many schools as well as city parks, golf courses, Dixie State College and the City Water Walk on Main Street in St. George.

Details of the St. George Conservation Drought Management Plan are available at www.sgcity.org.

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com