Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. GEORGE — Washington County Water Conservancy District officials are asking property owners in southwest Utah to suspend all landscape irrigation for at least 48 hours to conserve water after the region was pummeled with more storms Thursday morning.
"If all systems were suspended for a single day, the water savings would be in the tens of millions of gallons," Doug Bennett, the district's conservation manager, said in a statement, adding that the pause could go on, depending on how much rain the region gets the next few days.
Another round of deep monsoon moisture entered Utah Thursday, generating some morning storms that dumped heavy rainfall throughout southwest Utah. KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson said Snow Canyon State Park, Black Desert Resort and Red Cliffs Recreation Area were among the areas that received over 1.5 inches of rain within just four hours, while the Ledges golf course ended up with over 2 inches of rain.
The fast-falling rain led to some flash flooding in the region. A flash-flood warning for parts of Washington and Kane counties expired Thursday afternoon, but the National Weather Service also issued a flood watch for most of southern Utah that remains in place the rest of the day.
Washington County Water Conservancy District officials aren't alone in calling on residents to reduce or stop irrigation because of this week's storm activity.
The Utah Division of Water Resources listed Washington County as an area where two irrigations are acceptable this week and recommends residents in Beaver, Emery, Garfield, Kane, Juab, Morgan, Piute, Sanpete, Summit, Utah, Wasatch and Wayne shut off irrigation and "get ready to dance in the rain" with this week's storms.
Other areas may be included in the next weekly lawn care guidance, which should be released by Friday.
Johnson said scattered showers are expected across the state Thursday and Friday, which could provide some additional rain. The heaviest totals are forecast for southwest Utah, where flash flooding is probable in slot canyons.
A cold front is forecast to sweep through Utah's northern half over the weekend, dropping high temperatures into the mid-70s by Sunday. However, it may not provide much rain, if any. Drier conditions are expected statewide earlier next week.
This month's storms have helped reverse some of the drying conditions that emerged after an extremely hot and dry June and July. The percentage of Utah in moderate drought dropped from 7.3% to 4.7% in the U.S. Drought Monitor's latest report, but nearly 90% of the state remains at least "abnormally dry."
About 37% of Washington County remains in moderate drought, as do parts of Garfield, Iron and Kane counties in southwest Utah. The rest of those counties are among areas listed as "abnormally dry."
Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.
