Across the St. George area, lush green golf courses sprawl among red rock cliffs, cacti and yucca. This water-strapped region hosts 14 courses within a 20-mile radius. The sport may have reached a limit in southwest Utah, though. The Washington County Water Conservancy District’s board passed a new policy this month that increases regulations on the top 1% of commercial, institutional and industrial water users, including water guzzling industries such as golf courses, data centers and bottling plants. Any new project that will use 9 million gallons or more of the district’s water must receive additional review and approval from a committee of mayors and managers representing the eight cities and towns the district serves, according to the district.

Other water use and conservation news:

• Arizona Public Media: Project Blue developers push to close Tucson data center deal by Christmas
• The Sacramento Bee: Newsom touts climate leadership while blocking data center impacts bill
• Inside Climate News: ‘It’s not too late’: New Cornell study maps the environmental cost of AI and how policy could limit the damage
• Nature Sustainability: Environmental impact and net-zero pathways for sustainable artificial intelligence servers in the USA
• John Fleck at Inkstain: Blog: The value of water in alternative uses, cemetery edition