HURRICANE — After almost a year of debate by Hurricane city officials, a new water conservation ordinance was voted into effect during Thursday’s city council meeting. The ordinance limits both commercial and residential water use, targeting new construction projects, not pre-existing developments.
“I’m persuaded that we have a very serious water problem,” said Councilman Joseph Prete. “It’s taken us 10 months to get where we are, but we finally have a proposed ordinance with water restrictions.”
Under the new ordinance, commercially owned grass is not allowed outside of active recreation areas and is banned on landscape areas less than eight feet wide and on landscape slopes that exceed a 15% incline. Commercially owned grass is also prohibited on all park strips.
The ordinance requires commercial landscape, irrigation and project plans to be approved by the city, trees and bushes to be water efficient and prevent soil erosion, and construction projects to implement city provided secondary irrigation water instead of culinary water, if the irrigation water is available.
New developments in residential zones cannot have grass outside of active recreation areas, if maintained by a homeowner’s association. Like the commercial restrictions, grass cannot be on park strips.
Prete said although he would like to see more restrictions within the ordinance, he was fine with what the ordinance outlined.
However, the ordinance did not pass without significant opposition.
Councilman Kevin Thomas motioned to pass the ordinance exactly as it was proposed, but no one supported his motion.
The two members most hesitant to approve the ordinance were Councilmen Doug Heideman and David Hirschi. Heideman was concerned with how few residential restrictions are in the ordinance.
“I like the business regulations, but I think we need to revisit the residential regulations,” Heideman said. “I think two sentences is quite lacking.”
In less words than Heideman, Hirschi voiced his hesitations to the ordinance were related to his religious beliefs and experiences with local voters.
“I believe the Lord will provide us water, but we have a lot of concerns, email after email,” he said. “Let’s consider what our constituents desire.”
Hirschi was the only councilmember to explicitly include religion’s place in Hurricane’s water dilemma, but his statement echoed a potential water solution Utah Governor Spencer Cox proposed in a June 3, 2021 statement:
“By praying together and collectively asking God or whatever higher power you believe in for more rain, we may be able to escape the deadliest aspects of the continuing drought,” Cox said.
The council bounced possible residential restrictions back and forth for about an hour, with widely mixed responses from council members. Thomas adamantly opposed additional residential restrictions.
“If we’re going to do anything, the only thing I’m interested in restricting is in construction. Let’s target where the water really gets wasted — not in our houses,” Thomas said.
Councilman Joseph Prete proposed two additional commercial-focused amendments be added to the ordinance: new construction projects must employ “water-smart” sprinkler control, and the grass restriction areas proposed by the district would double in size.
Once motioned, this version of the ordinance passed and gained council approval, 3-2 with Heideman and Hirschi opposed.
Prior to this ordinance taking effect, construction companies in Hurricane used culinary water in their projects, which included spraying down large areas of pavement and concrete.
Since June 1, Hurricane has banned residential watering of grass between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. in order to limit water waste. This new ordinance steps Hurricane alongside surrounding desert communities who are making significant city changes to adapt to the oppressive drought.
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