Utah Parched Cities Reeling From Hot Summer

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Parched Cities Reeling From Hot Summer Source: The Salt Lake Tribune Publication date: 2000-10-09

ST. GEORGE -- A combination of high temperatures, drought and sprawling growth has at least six cities in arid Washington County reeling from power and water shortages this summer. The cities have been forced to pull at least $4 million from emergency funds to cover unexpectedly high electricity bills. Some of these municipalities have already implemented power rate increases and others are seriously considering hiking rates this month.

In addition to power troubles, water became suddenly scarce across the county by early July when two key wells that supply St. George, Hurricane, Ivins, Santa Clara and Washington failed during unusually dry conditions.

The Hurricane City Council approved a 17 percent power rate increase in mid-September to cover a $600,000 debt from summer power rates. This came at the same time that Hurricane secured a previously approved $4.8 million bond for two substations to serve the city's sprawling neighborhoods. St. George, Santa Clara, Ivins and Washington are considering electric rate increases as well.

"Our water and power systems got hit pretty hard this year," says Hurricane City Manager Clark Fawcett, "mostly because we weren't prepared for that kind of a long, hot summer."

By early August, the county's four largest cities had established mandatory or voluntary restrictions on outdoor water use.

This month, Ivins hiked water fees by 80 percent. Santa Clara had a less dramatic increase, and La Verkin City is likely to adopt a rate increase this week.

To avoid such problems in the future, and keep pace with growth that is expected to double the county's population to 180,000 in the next decade, Washington County and its cities are proposing at least $600 million in infrastructure improve- ments.

Santa Clara City Manager Matthew Brower said the town of 4,200 residents will need to spend at least as much for water and power improvements in the next five years as the $3.5 million that has been spent since 1995. "With the scale and scope of projects that we'll be facing in the next five years, I wouldn't be surprised to see the city needing to spend significantly more," Brower says, adding that an engineering study to provide more exact figures will be finished this year.

The summer's water scramble was exacerbated by the amount of lawn that is frequently over-watered by residents in the region. "Very little of our culinary water is used by humans," says Brower. "Most of it is used to water lawns or wash cars."

County water officials indicate that residents use an average of 360 gallons per person per day and all but an average of 68 gallons are used for outdoor purposes. St. George Water and Power Department Director Wayne McArthur echoes Brower's assessment of local water use. "During the summer peak, our tanks would fill during the night but then between 6 and 9 a.m. when people watered their lawns, the tanks would bottom out."

McArthur says that this summer's record-breaking usage peaked at 33 million gallons per day, 10 percent higher than last year. "We pushed our system right to the edge."

McArthur's biggest concern about demand put on the city's system was that it could not provide sufficient pressure for fire hydrants in some areas.

At least $81.7 million in capital improvements will be needed by 2005 to avoid shortages and accommodate the city's anticipated population growth, according to consulting water engineer George Spencer and St. George water engineer Phil Solomon. The pair reported this finding to the St. George Water and Power Board in August.

In addition to water woes, St. George ended up with an unexpected $3 million debt after the city's power consumption outpaced last year's usage by at least 25 percent. The record-breaking demand forced the city to buy expensive power from the nation's volatile electric free market. By the end of August, the city was able to pay back $1 million of the debt by selling back a surplus of city- generated electricity.

City and county officials are currently working on a series of infrastructure improvements that will add up to at least $600 million over the next decade. They say the projects are needed to avoid water and power shortages in the future and accommodate growth.

Santa Clara, Washington, St. George and Hurricane are discussing spending $60 million as part of a confidential bid to purchase a $300 million power plant in the western United States.

Thirty-five cities in Utah are participating in the deal as members of the Utah Association of Municipal Power Suppliers. The association has already chipped in $600,000 in fees on the proposed purchase, eyeing the prospect of guaranteed power supplied at a low 3.8 cents per kilowatt, compared to between 5 and 7 cents now.

The lion's share of the infrastructure tab would be used to build a $360 million pipeline from Lake Powell to provide water for an additional 250,000 residents in the county. Washington County Water Conservancy District officials are already working to tap state and federal funds for the project. While many local officials argue that the pipeline is the only solution to the desert region's ongoing water problems, some are not sure they are ready to deal with the increased population that the pipeline would facilitate.

"Even if we build that pipeline," says former LaVerkin City Mayor Doug Wilson, "we still live in a desert. Up until recently we've always lived in these small towns with plenty of water so there's never been a need for water conservation. But if you go to places like Tucson or even Las Vegas you see that they're so serious about conserving water that you just don't find any grass at all."

"I'm one of those people," explains Wilson, who currently serves as LaVerkin's city manager, "that likes the way things the way they used to be about 20 years ago."

http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/Story.nsp?story_id=14649115&ID=cnniw&scategory=Utilities

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 10, 2000


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