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CEDAR CITY — Ask any fourth-grade student in Iron County about water and after Tuesday, they’ll probably tell you almost anything you want to know and more, which was all part of the two-day water fair hosted at the Aquatic Center.

Organized by the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, the water fair was the first of its kind in Iron County and modeled after one that Washington County has hosted for years.

“Washington County gave us a checklist, and a lot of getting ready for this event was just going down that checklist marking. It all went pretty smooth,” said Paul Monroe, director of the Iron County Water Conservancy District.

The fair kicked off Monday, but the conservancy district began laying the groundwork last week, dropping off toilets at the different schools in the county in an effort to get the kids excited for the fair and learning about water.

“We had some students at the SUU Communication Department help us promote the event, and they’re the ones that came up with the toilet idea to get the kids excited and the cute little water droplet named Augi,” Monroe said.

The day included various presentations from learning about the water cycle to cloud formations that the students rotated through — all geared toward the subject of water.

One of the presentations by Hope Briathwaite and Brian Greene, who were both with the Utah State University Water Quality Extension Office in Logan, taught the kids about bugs that are called biological indicators. These bugs help scientists know whether the water is clean and healthy.

During the presentation, students got a chance to actually hold some bugs in their hand. They also got to go exploring for their own bugs in some water brought in from a local creek.

Another class taught the students how to blow bubbles with nothing more than their fingers, soap and water, while another presentation started a book on fire.

“These are experts in their field that are presenting today, and I think it’s a really great experience for the kids to hear from them. The water fair has been a great success and it offers another tool that enhances the learning process and provides another way for the students to learn,” said Candace Schaible, who helped organize the water fair and is the horticulture, water wisdom and landscaping educator with the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District and the USU Extension Program.

Regardless of the topic, each presentation gave the students a hands-on learning opportunity, designed to not only teach them but to keep them entertained.

“I think the fair really is a wonderful experience for these kids and helps them understand water better. This also goes right along with the fourth-grade science curriculum,” said LeAnn Roberts, a fourth-grade teacher at Three Peaks Elementary School.

Follow Tracie Sullivan on Twitter, @tracie_sullivan.​

What’s the flush about?

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

​Written by St. George News on March 3, 2014 in Community News, Education, Life, News – No comments

CEDAR CITY – Toilets, sinks and “Augi The Water Droplet” will be joining the fourth-graders of Iron County schools on Tuesday. Augi will inspire students, to attend the water fair on March 10th and 11th at the Cedar City Aquatic Center, “What’s All the Flush About?” hosted by the Iron County Water Conservancy District.

Toilets will be hauled out of the back of a truck by volunteers and set up with Augi, just inside the doors of the elementary schools at the schools. The Cedar City Home Depot is graciously supplying the toilets for display.

Wettest summer in Cedar City since ’48

Thursday, September 19, 2013​Written by Tracie Sullivan​​, The Spectrum​

CEDAR CITY — If you think this has been an especially wet summer in Iron County, you’re not imagining things.

Cedar City has experienced the wettest summer since at least 1948, as precipitation at the Cedar City Municipal Airport between June 1 and Sept. 16 measured almost 9 inches.

The majority of the rainfall came in a two-month period, according to meteorologist Mike Conger from the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.

“We figure our information in seasons, so the precipitation numbers for the summer are between June and August. This year most of that precipitation came in between July and August,” he said.

In 1984, the precipitation reached nearly 7.2 inches, making it the next wettest summer on record prior to this year. Ever since then, officials say it’s just gone downhill, putting the area in a drought for the last few years.

The highest precipitation recorded in the last five summers came in at 6 inches just last year, with a low of 1.6 inches in both 2008 and 2009. The average in that time was around three inches.

According to Paul Monroe, director of the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, the moisture measure for the area in early June was still low.

“Even with the added moisture we received, the weather station at Midway on Cedar Mountain is at 81 percent of normal,” he said. “Better from the 69 percent we were at the beginning of the summer.”

With the area having experienced drought for more than five years, Monroe said, the rainfall has saved the livelihoods of many livestock producers who were planning for a dismal year for grass and feed for their animals. But it didn’t raise levels enough to put Cedar City in the clear.

“It doesn’t mean we’re out of the drought. But it has definitely alleviated the conditions,” Monroe said.

Generally, the region depends on snowfall to bring it out of a drought. Because the process of snow melting is a slow one, that water is more likely to seep into aquifers.

But when the rainfall comes in the form of thunderstorms and cloudbursts, it often results in flooding, and the runoff is generally filled with mud and silt.

“A lot of that water doesn’t seep into the aquifer but drains into Quichapa, the lake west of town out on Highway 56,” Monroe said. “The farmers won’t use it for their crops and we can’t use it for city water, so it’s no good to us.”

But residents with lawns should have benefited with lower water bills.

“I have talked to some residents who said they have only had to water their lawns for a total of four weeks to date this summer,” Monroe said.​

Huge aquifer that runs through 8 states quickly being tapped out

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Denise Chow LiveScience​

Kansas State University Photo Services, An irrigation system sprays water on a cornfield.

Nearly 70 percent of the groundwater stored in parts of the United States’ High Plains Aquifer — a vast underground reservoir that stretches through eight states, from South Dakota to Texas, and supplies 30 percent of the nation’s irrigated groundwater — could be used up within 50 years unless current water use is reduced, a new study finds.

Researchers from Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., conducted a four-year study of a portion of the High Plains Aquifer, called the Ogallala Aquifer, which provides the most agriculturally important irrigation in the state of Kansas, and is a key source of drinking water for the region.

If current irrigation trends continue unabated, 69 percent of the available groundwater will be drained in the next five decades, the researchers said in a study published online Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“I think it’s generally understood that the groundwater levels are going down and that at some point in the future groundwater pumping rates are going to have to decrease,” study lead author David Steward, a professor of civil engineering at Kansas State University, said in a statement. “However, there are lots of questions about how long the water will last, how long the aquifer will take to refill and what society can do.” [Earth Checkup: 10 Health Status Signs]

Taking water measurements

Steward and his colleagues collected data on past and present groundwater levels in the Ogallala Aquifer, and developed statistical models to project various scenarios of water depletion over the next 100 years.

Kansas State University Photo Services, Water from the High Plains Aquifer irrigates a field of corn.

Using current trends in water usage as a guide, the researchers estimate that 3 percent of the aquifer’s water was used up by 1960; 30 percent of the aquifer’s water was drained by 2010; and a whopping 69 percent of the reservoir will likely be tapped by 2060. It would take an average of 500 to 1,300 years to completely refill the High Plains Aquifer, Steward added.

But, if reducing water use becomes an immediate priority, it may be possible to make use of the aquifer’s resources and increase net agricultural production through the year 2110, the researchers said.

“The main idea is that if we’re able to save water today, it will result in a substantial increase in the number of years that we will have irrigated agriculture in Kansas,” Steward said.

A lot of variables

Yet, making projections about water security is challenging, because there are a number of factors to consider, and even though the High Plains Aquifer touches eight different states, the effects can be highly localized, said Bridget Scanlon, a senior research scientist and leader of the Sustainable Water Resources Program at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved with the new study.

“We know the aquifer is being depleted, but trying to project long-term is very difficult, because there are climate issues and social aspects that have to be included,” Scanlon told LiveScience. “Projections are so difficult because I think we’re clueless about a lot of things, like extreme weather events.”

Scanlon pointed out that the new study does not consider the impact of extreme weather, such as droughts or floods. In 2011, Texas experienced a devastating drought that cost the state some $8 billion in economic losses, according to a report by Susan Combs, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. NASA satellites that studied the parched land determined that the drought depleted the region’s aquifers to low levels that had rarely been seen since this type of mapping began more than 60 years ago. [Dried Up: Photos Reveal Devastating Texas Drought]

Finding a solution to the groundwater depletion problem is also tricky without unfairly targeting the farmers, Scanlon said.

“Farmers are trying to make a living, and they’re responding to economics,” she explained. “Asking them to drastically reduce water might be like asking me to retire now because there are so many unemployed people.”

Too many unknowns?

Steward and his colleagues anticipate future technologies will help farmers irrigate their land more efficiently. “Water use efficiencies have increased by about 2 percent a year in Kansas, which means that every year we’re growing about 2 percent more crop for each unit of water,” Steward said. “That’s happening because of increased irrigation technology, crop genetics and management strategies.”

But in some areas of the country’s plains, the properties of the groundwater and soil largely dictate the irrigation techniques, Scanlon said. In parts of Texas and Kansas, the groundwater is brinier, which means if some farmers employ more efficient irrigation techniques, they will also be pumping up salty deposits that are not adequately washed away by rainfall.

“This is a very nice study, but we really need to address droughts and socioeconomic issues, and other approaches to figure out the problem, beyond the technical,” Scanlon said. “If we don’t know what we’re doing, are we just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?”

Follow Denise Chow on Twitter @denisechow. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebookand Google+. Original article on LiveScience

Farmers Market offers fresh alternative

Wednesday, July 31, 2013​​Written by Josh Huntsman, The Spectrum

CEDAR CITY — Now in its third year of operation, the Downtown Farmers Market, sponsored by local businesses and the Utah State University Extension office, offers a unique experience when it comes to buying local produce.

Candace Schaible, water-wise landscape/horticultural educator for the Utah State University Iron County Extension Office and the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, is in charge of the market. She said this year will feature approximately 30 individual vendors.

“It’s really taken off,” Schaible said. “We have more vendors than we’ve ever had.”

The market takes place every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the parking lot on the corner of Hoover Street and 100 West.

While most of the vendor space will feature locally grown produce, there will also be informational booths from organizations such as 4-H, as well as space for entertainment and dining.

Schaible said the food and entertainment will bring a more festive atmosphere to the market.

“We’ll have music every week. We got some tables set up so people can have dinner,” Schaible said. “We’ve had music and food in the past, but it hasn’t been consistent. This year it’s consistent.”

Studies indicate farmers markets also bring benefits to the community. According to a 2005 study by the United States Department of Agriculture, farmers who participate in farmers markets keep $8 to $9 for every $10 spent on produce as opposed to $1.50 through wholesalers — and of that $10 spent, $7.80 is respent in the community.

Schaible said the market also accepts Electronic Benefit Transfer cards, sometimes called food stamps, to purchase vegetation.

“It provides a place for folks who participate in that program to buy local, fresh produce,” Schaible said. “Not many of the farmers are set up for EBT so other than the market, I don’t think they have very many options.”

Cedar City resident Rob Knerr said he enjoys buying produce from the farmers market because he likes to know where his food comes from.

“It’s a chance to chat with the farmers who grew the carrots you are buying,” Knerr said. “There is a level of disconnect we have with food these days because we don’t really think about where it comes from but at the (farmers market) you can see the hand that grew the food.”​

CICWCD Conservation Advisory Board formed

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

By Kristen Daniel – Iron County Today

Jul 03, 2013 | 27 views | 0  | 3  |  | 

CEDAR CITY – The Central Iron County Water Conservancy District has officially founded the Water Conservation Advisory Board and approved $7,000 to begin its ultimate mission of seeing citizens and public institutions conserve water every day in the Cedar Valley, where the aquifer is over-mined by about 4,000 acre feet each year.

Citizen activist Doug Hall, who founded the Iron County Association of Taxpayers and who regularly attends the CICWCD monthly board meetings, was appointed chair of the Water Conservation Advisory Board.

CICWCD General Manager Paul Monroe and other district staff, including Candace Schaible, horticulture and water-wise educator for the CICWCD and Iron County Utah State University Extension Office, met with Hall in order to develop a list of the top 12 prioritized suggestions from the advisory board on how to begin an effective conservation effort in the district.

Hall gave a presentation to the CICWCD Board of Directors at its June 20 meeting during which he suggested the district begin working with large, non-agricultural outdoor water users such as Cedar and Enoch Cities, Southern Utah University, and Iron County schools and churches to determine what water conservation activities are in place and what improvements can be made.

Monroe said they will begin with some trial partnerships with the school district at Three Peaks Elementary School in Enoch and an area such as East Canyon Park in Cedar City, and install water-smart sprinklers and modules in large grassy areas to demonstrate the amount of water and money saved and to serve as an example to the public.

“We want to work with the city and the school district to see how we can help them conserve water,” Monroe said. “And then, in turn show the average citizens how they can save money on their yards while conserving precious water.”

Other suggestions offered by Hall were to construct an outdoor audit form to help citizens identify how much water they are using and how to improve their systems and to work with the Iron County Home Builders Association to assist in formulating a strong water conservation policy for new home construction.

The board approved spending $7,000 for conservation projects in the district.

Hall will be joined on the advisory board by at least 11 other citizens who hale from different corners of the community and have experience or concern for conservation. So far Schaible, Blake DeMille of Rocky Ridge Landscape Rock, Garth Green of Southwest plumbing, Chris Gale of Southern Utah University, Hunter Sheehan, associated with Iron County School District, and Ryan Marshall with the Cedar City Corporation have been invited and agreed to join the advisory board.

Read more:Iron County Today – CICWCD Conservation Advisory Board formed

Water district’s claim on new water a realistic possibility

Wednesday, July 3, 2013​​​CICWCD staff and board members meet with Utah Division of Water Rights staff to camera wells in Wah Wah and Pine Valleys

By Kristen Daniel (Iron County Today)

Jul 03, 2013 | 212 views | 0  | 9  |  | 

CEDAR CITY – The Utah State Engineer took a trip with members of the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District Board to the Wah Wah and Pine Valleys where the engineer made encouraging remarks that the district may receive approval for its filing on 27,000 acre feet of water.

On June 17 and 18, Utah Division of Water Rights staff including State Engineer Kent Jones joined members of the CICWCD Board and District staff engineers and consultants, including General Manager Paul Monroe and Cedar City Councilmember Paul Cozzens, to visit test wells in each valley.

The wells have been drilled as part of the first 18 months of an ongoing three-year joint study in the valleys conducted by the United States Geological Survey on behalf of the CICWCD in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and the Division of Water Rights.

Monroe said the state engineer told him and the board that if the study proves the indications of previous tests, the full 27,000 acre feet of the filing will be approved. The district had expected Jones to approve only a portion of the filing, as is usually the case with water rights applications, so Monroe said this was very exciting news.

“This is a huge and exciting possibility for the whole area,” Monroe said. “The future of Iron County and the way it will look in 20-50 years will be a direct result from these waters.”

The CICWCD filed on the 27,000 acre feet of water three years ago under the directions of then General Manager Scott Wilson.

In order to have the application ultimately approved, the district will have to conduct more extensive tests including test pumps on wells in each valley, which will increase the total cost of the study to $175,000. The BLM and Division of Water Rights will contribute funds to the project, which has 18 months remaining.

Monroe added that all indications are the quality of the water is also very high, similar the Cedar Valley aquifer water or perhaps better.

Delivering the water to Iron County from the Wah Wah and Pine Valleys was estimated in 2010 at $149.7 million for 27,000 acre feet of water or $5,549 per acre foot. The lake Powell Pipeline would have cost $418.2 million for 13,249 acre feet or $31,500 per acre foot.

Those Lake Powell numbers do not include the cost to build a retaining pond and treat the Lake Powell water, which requires extensive treatment before it can be used safely by any municipality.

“This is our last opportunity to put a straw in another valley and access another area’s water resource,” Monroe said. “So we feel it is definitely worth the cost to prove this filing and have access to the water when we need it.”

Monroe said it may be decades before Iron County has need to build the pipeline and deliver the water, assuming the filing is approved, but they would begin environmental impact studies, which can take five or more years and take other necessary and proactive steps in the meantime.

Read more:Iron County Today – Water district s claim on new water a realistic possibility

Utah’s Water Future An Invitation for Public Comment

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

The Central Iron County Water Conservancy District is participating in Governor Gary Herbert’s ​town hall meetings to address the use of Utah’s Water in the future. We also invite you to attend and be involved with the planning of this most precious natural resource.

Utah’s Water Future​

Utah is the second driest state in the nation. It is also among the fastest growing. That combination presents obvious challenges for how we manage our water.

We need to act wisely now to ensure our children and grandchildren enjoy a vibrant economy and the beauty of Utah’s great outdoors.

The remedies of the past won’t necessarily be the solutions of the future. The Governor is seeking innovative solutions to our water needs that don’t break the bank or dry up our streams—ideas that are a win/win for all Utahns. To assist him in this task, he has brought together a group of water experts who will gather public input about the use, development and conservation of water in our state.

To succeed, this must be a collaborative process—where everyone has a voice and where all ideas are welcome. You are invited to participate in this important effort. Do you have comments or suggestions about:

• Using our water most efficiently?
• Addressing competition for water resources?
• Meeting the water needs of our growing population while protecting the environment, and the beauty and outdoor lifestyle we enjoy?
• Funding the construction of new and maintenance of existing water infrastructure?
• The availability and use of water for agriculture?
• Addressing the complicated issues around water law and its application?
• Other issues relating to Utah’s long-range water future?

If so, the Governor’s team wants to listen.

July 1 Utah Climate and Water Report

Monday, July 1, 2013

Howdy Folks,

Attached is the July 1 Utah Climate and Water report. June was not a good water month, exceptionally dry, hot and high water use. Virtually no precipitation, stream flows below 25%, soil moisture near the bottom of historical observed, reservoir levels dropping fast and water restrictions being implemented across the state. There is no real optimism at this point. Please forward this information to those who might benefit.

 Utah Climate and Water Report​

Randall P. Julander – Hydrologist

Snow Survey Supervisor

CICWCD sets fund for water situation

Thursday, June 20, 2013

The Spectrum

By Cathy Wentz

CEDAR CITY — The board of the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District on Thursday approved a resolution to set aside $7,000 from several areas of the district’s budget to pay for water conservation projects.

Doug Hall, chairman of the newly formed water conservation advisory board, provided a list of 12 suggestions for conservation efforts. He said he has been working on recruiting people to represent water conservation and the “major players” in terms of water use within the water district’s boundaries.

Hall said he has been meeting with district staff as well as Candace Schaible, horticulture and water-wise educator for the CICWCD and Iron County Utah State University Extension Office, to prioritize the 12 suggestions based on what could be done and costs associated with those actions.

“And obviously, like anything else, you attempt to go for the lowest hanging fruit to start with,” Hall said.

One of Hall’s first suggestions is to work with the large, non-agricultural outdoor water users within the district, such as Cedar City and Enoch, Iron County School District, Southern Utah University and churches to examine water conservation activities already in place and ways to improve them.  …Continue Reading.​

Water Conservation Simplified by Cathy Wentz

Sunday, June 9, 2013​CEDAR CITY — As Iron County experiences the heat of summer, Paul Monroe, general manager for the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, is expressing concern about a lower amount of spring run-off from the mountain snows that recharges the Cedar Valley aquifer.

​Monroe said the water count at Midway on Cedar Mountain revealed this year’s snowpack is 69 percent of average.

In the spirit of using the water available in the aquifer as efficiently as possible, Candace Schaible, horticulture and water wise educator for CICWCD and Utah State University Iron County Extension Office, is conducting water checks for outdoor watering systems at homes throughout the county.

Schaible said the water check program is in its fourth year of operation, and she estimates she conducts an average of 75 checks each year.​ …Continue Reading​