The general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District warned listeners that Southern Utah could run short of water unless residents, builders and elected leaders change landscaping and construction practices. “The vast majority of our water that we could go without is going on landscaping, specifically grass,” the manager said, adding that about 40% of a typical home's water use goes to “non functioning grass.”

The comment came during a roughly eight-minute presentation in which the manager described personal and district-level conservation steps. He said he converted his yard to drip irrigation after removing a 70-foot-by-10-foot strip of grass and that the change eliminated mowing and edging while conserving water.

The manager framed the issue as one with economic and regulatory consequences: “We are gonna be out of water and we're going to stop issuing building permits here,” he said, warning that continued growth without conservation could halt construction and lead to layoffs. He said local elected leaders responded by adopting some of the state’s most restrictive landscape ordinances and that the district plans to roll out “an ultra water efficient standard.”

Citing long-term policy and infrastructure, the speaker pointed to the role of large projects in Utah’s water supply and urged a shift in how cities evaluate and plan for water. “The way that you've been looking at water for all these years has to change,” he said, adding that municipalities can no longer assume historical water-right baselines are sufficient.

The manager also noted historical and enforcement context: he said Saint George passed a 1918 ordinance that made wasting water a criminal offense, with a contemporary equivalent fine of about $850. He referenced recent regional discussions about stricter enforcement — including reports of “water cops” issuing fines in other Western states — but emphasized education and voluntary change as primary tools until supplies force harder limits.

He described outreach to home builders and elected officials as central to the district's approach. The manager said he told builders they risked losing work in three to four years if developments did not adopt water-wise landscaping and construction, and that builders “quickly responded.”

To help residents make changes, he pointed to local resources for water-wise plants and landscaping demonstrations. He noted the desert garden near Dixie Rock as an example of xeroscape landscaping and mentioned the Jordan Valley Conservancy District in Salt Lake County as a regional resource for learning drip irrigation and plant selection.

No formal action or vote was recorded during the presentation; the remarks were given as an informational outreach to the meeting attendees.