Moab鈥檚 drinking water starts as snow on the nearby La Sal mountains. It trickles into an underground aquifer and toward the town over thousands of years. Then, it flows through faucets in homes and hotel rooms in the tourism hot spot.
But no one knows exactly how much water is in the aquifer, or how much is coming out.
A 2020 report found there may be as little as entering the aquifer each year, which is close to what Moab is withdrawing annually right now. That鈥檚 prompting a conversation in the community about limiting development and requiring water conservation, as well as whether Moab should wait for confirmation that it鈥檚 running out of water or act now.
Figuring out whether Moab is running out of water or not is Marc Stilson鈥檚 job. He鈥檚 a regional engineer with the Utah Division of Water Rights.
He met up with some colleagues and local residents on an empty lot in a neighborhood above Moab in early March to scope out an old well. They put a camera down the 150-foot hole to figure out if they could use the well to track the level of the aquifer.
鈥淭here's a pretty good groundwater monitoring system in the valley run by [the U.S. Geological Survey],鈥� Stilson said. 鈥淏ut we don't have any monitoring wells up here.鈥�
Ultimately, Stilson will need to figure out how much water can be withdrawn from the aquifer each year. That鈥檚 called safe yield, and it needs to match the amount that鈥檚 entering the aquifer so it鈥檚 not overdrawn, like a bank account.
Once that number is set, the city has a legal requirement to protect the aquifer. But until then, anything could happen.
To Conserve Or Not To Conserve?
John Weisheit leads the Moab-based nonprofit Living Rivers, and he said he鈥檚 really worried about the aquifer.
He likes to keep an eye on the natural springs in Moab, where water comes straight out of the aquifer, like the one in a grassy park on the south side of town.
鈥淭his spring is flowing, and even though that's not connected to a satellite or electricity, it's telling us right now things are okay,鈥� he said.
But that may not be the case for long.
He said the new study confirmed his fear that Moab is much closer to overdrawing it鈥檚 aquifer than most people want to admit. He described several observations that led him to that belief. For one, the monsoon season is not nearly as long as it used to be. And the mountain snowpack is also patchier than when he moved to Moab in 1987, which follows across the southwest.
But he opposes the water saving measures the city council is currently exploring, arguing they aren鈥檛 enough on their own.
鈥淥f course we need to conserve water,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 tree only needs 10 gallons, not 20. But if they take those 10 gallons and build another house, then why should I conserve?鈥�
Instead, he thinks the responsible option is for the city to stop new development before implementing any conservation requirements.
No Time To Waste
Moab is going to have less water in the future regardless of what happens with development, according to Roslynn McCann, a professor of sustainability at Utah State University Moab.
That鈥檚 because it鈥檚 in the middle of a global warming hotspot. Even with growth caps, supplies will shrink, so she thinks people need to start conserving water now.
Her solution? Do more with recycled water, like the system she has in her yard.
Used water from her sinks and laundry machine is piped into her garden, which is full of flowering plants and fruit trees. She has a Utah Giant Cherry Tree and an Alberta Peach Tree, along with yarrow, sage, currant, iris and lavender plants, just to name a few. She has a switch in her house that allows her to direct the water to her garden or to the sewer.
鈥淲e've seen amazing growth with our fruit trees with the greywater system, and now we have a large harvest every year,鈥� she said.
McCann thinks systems like this should be required on all new developments, along with systems to capture rainwater. But she said she understands why people are hesitant to conserve, especially if there鈥檚 no transparency about where that water is going.
鈥淚 think that falls on the shoulders of government employees to communicate what the plan would be if X amount of water is conserved,鈥� she said. 鈥淲here is that water going to go?鈥�
That鈥檚 the question 鈥� how much is going to stay in the aquifer, and how much is going to go to new growth?
But in order to find an answer, the city needs to know how much water it鈥檚 giving out to new users. And right now there鈥檚 no system in place to do that.
Accounting For Water
Mike Duncan is trying to create a system. He鈥檚 a city council member in Moab who鈥檚 becoming an expert on water issues, and he agrees that Moab鈥檚 aquifer is in danger.
He said the city has ample water rights on paper, so Moab officials have never worried about keeping track of how much water it is promising to developers. But those water rights are based on old estimates of the aquifer鈥檚 capacity, so it may turn out that the water on paper doesn鈥檛 exist.
鈥淓very time we accept a new application from a new hotel or a new subdivision and so forth it is basically a promise that we're going to have water for you indefinitely far into the future,鈥� he said. 鈥淚'm feeling queasy about that.鈥�
To address the issue, he wants the city to start attaching a set amount of water to every building application it approves. He said that would allow Moab to track how much water it鈥檚 promising to new users, and it could force them to conserve, because they鈥檇 only get a set amount.
鈥淏asically, we're going to put water conservation controls in there for everybody,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o the burden of conserving water is shared equitably across the board between businesses and residences and so forth.鈥�
But he said what the city and its residents really need is that safe yield number. Because until Moab knows how much water is in its bank account, there鈥檚 no way to avoid going broke.
This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUER in Utah, distributed by 萝莉少女, and supported by the Walton Family Foundation.
Copyright 2021