Utah reservoirs average 75% full, St. George area abnormally dry

SALT LAKE CITY — It is a great time of year to visit the St. George area, but the near-perfect weather lately is coming at a price.

“I am starting to get very nervous,” said Zach Renstrom.

Those aren’t the words you want to hear from Renstrom because he is the general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District. It has been very dry in Southwest Utah.

Since the beginning of the water year in October, the area has received about half its normal precipitation.

“We haven’t had any moisture, and I always, in the Fall, go and take a look at a few key sites, some springs. I have even noticed those springs that are generally very reliable springs are actually starting to drop down,” Renstrom said.

Gunlock Reservoir is one of several reservoirs in the area that is more empty than full. However, it is those very reservoirs that at least give the county a bit of a safety net.

“I can confidently say we are going to have enough drinking water for next year, and the only reason I can say that with the lack of precipitation this year, this Fall, is because of our reservoirs and us storing that water,” Renstrom said.

Water conditions are better in northern Utah. Jordanelle Reservoir is 82% full, and the statewide average is at 75%, which is slightly lower than at this time last year but well above the severe drought years of 2021-2022.

Plus, the snowstorm that has been hitting northern Utah mountains the past few days and into this weekend will only add to current totals.

“It is still early to be too alarmist and we still have plenty of months to go to get back to 100%,” said Jordan Clayton, a hydrologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Utah Snow Survey Team.

Soil moisture levels across Utah are still below normal, but those totals should also see a boost with the latest snowstorm. Utah’s average snowpack stands at 81% of normal.

The current storm is expected to add about three feet to our snowpack, which equates to roughly three inches of water. Currently, 2% of Utah is in the severe drought category, and 19% is in the moderate drought category. At this time last year, 10% of the state was in moderate drought.

The Uinta Basin is seeing above-average precipitation, with 164% of normal for the water year so far. The average precipitation in the St. George area is about 46% of normal.

“We are still very hopeful,” said Renstrom when discussing the St. George area. “We are still optimistic that we will get the moisture and precipitation we desperately need, and it could happen, but every day that goes by, it makes those numbers a little bit more worse.”

Renstrom is asking southern Utah residents to conserve water as much as possible. He said one of the best ways to do that is to shut off water for lawns.

“I go around our community, and I see people watering grass that is dormant because of the weather,” Renstrom said. “We are always asking people to conserve because we always know there is going to be an event like we are having now where it is really dry.”