St. George • Developers of residential building projects might soon need to secure guarantees of water from the Washington County Water Conservancy District rather than from cities in the drought-stricken area.
Ivins Mayor Chris Hart, who also sits on the water district’s board of trustees, said cities are essentially getting out of the water business when it comes to approving residential developments.
“Our city and others in the district will not even include water in the conversation, even though everyone knows there is a water shortage,” he said.
If the change, as expected, is adopted by Hart and other board members, it would put the onus on the water district to guarantee there is enough water for developers’ projects. It also would place an additional burden on developers to follow through with the required steps to secure water for their developments.
Under the process outlined by the district, developers would first need cities to grant them preliminary plat approval and sign off on their construction plans. They would also need to sign a disclaimer acknowledging that the city is not responsible for providing water.