LAYTON — The rules governing water use will be tightening.

Cities and other wholesale water customers seeking new contracts with the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, or WBWCD, will be required to implement more rigorous efficiency standards on water use. With a goal of checking water use as supplies dwindle and growth continues, the change could necessitate new ordinances aimed at curbing water consumption.

Lawn irrigation and landscaping account for a big chunk of residential water use, and that will likely be a big area of focus for tightening of rules. WBWCD, a public entity with taxing authority based in Layton, is a regional water supplier.

“I think it’s very significant,” said WBWCD General Manager Scott Paxman, alluding to the potential impact of the changes, approved, along with a rate hike, by the WBWCD board of trustees on Feb. 2. “I think it’s the way of the future.”

As Paxman sees it, the new WBWCD rules could lead to municipal ordinances putting limits on lawn irrigation, though specifics would likely be determined client by client. Indoor residential water use, he said, usually holds pretty steady.

“We can’t have large lots with fence-to-fence sod and still manage to address growth in our communities,” Paxman said. The impact could be felt in high-growth zones like the West Haven area, at least if water suppliers need new water contracts to keep pace with rising numbers of people.

The WBWCD supplies wholesale water to a range of customers, including most every city in Weber and Davis counties, with the exception of North Ogden. WBWCD isn’t necessarily the sole water provider in each locale, but it’s a major player, also serving irrigation districts and others.

The new guidelines approved last month won’t apply to clients that already had contracts since the WBWCD can’t retroactively change agreements. The WBWCD uses incentive programs, like the Flip Your Strip initiative, with those customers, said Jon Parry, the assistant general manager at the water entity.

Parry said the new water rules aim to help in reducing water consumption in the years to come to an average of 175 gallons per person per day, as set out by state officials. As of 2015 in the Weber River drainage basin, he said, that figure was around 250 gallons per person per day.

“I think you see similar rules in some of the more water-stressed areas of the western United States,” he said.

WBWCD officials are in the process of getting word out to customers. The entity won’t dictate what sort of rules impacted cities need to implement, but rather will work them and try to tailor changes to their particular circumstances. Parry envisions “a collaborative process.”

The WBWCD board of trustees approved a similar change last August affecting certain water customers in the Wasatch Back areas where it serves.

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