Water managers address low aquifer levels in Iron County

CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4) — There’s some worry in southern Utah about the long-term water supply throughout Cedar Valley, with new people moving into the area.

Officials with the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District say that aquifer levels have been steadily declining over several years, going down by about 7,000-acre feet per year.

Around 30 percent of the groundwater in this area goes to municipalities while the remaining 70 percent is used for agriculture. To combat the decline of aquifer levels, water managers are buying water rights from old developments, but warn low levels aren’t going away anytime soon.

Paul Monroe, General Manager of the Water Conservancy District says the agency has put nearly 24,000 acre feet of water back into the ground since 2016. They are working on a reuse project that will allow the reuse of wasterwater effluent to help with agricultural use and open spaces.

Monroe says while water levels in the short term are good, there may be other impacts and steps taken to conserve and make sure residents in the area have enough water as the drought persists.

He adds that new developments that come in have to bring their own water supplies and sources, which mainly comes from agriculture. Meaning those water rights and the water the developers have, they have to acquire that from a specific source.

Monroe says this is all part of the long-term process to help conserve water in the valley, and asks that residents and visitors continue to conserve as much as they can.

Joe DeGolyer contributed to this report.