This city is exploring an unconventional solution to water scarcity: sewage
David Condos, Ryan Kellman – NPR.org
June 9, 2025
ST. GEORGE, Utah — Water scarcity, population growth and climate change are on a collision course in the American West.
That’s clear in cities like St. George, a desert community surrounded by stunning red rock cliffs and mesas in Utah’s southwest corner. The population is booming and climate change is making heat more intense and rain less reliable. But local leaders have a plan to stretch the area’s water supply by turning to its sewage — a solution that could help other drought-stricken cities, too.
That plan started with a simple math problem.
“All the water has been used. It’s been called for. But yet, we have one of the fastest-growing communities in the Western United States,” said Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District in St. George.