Zion Shores surf community project draws questions about water use

Zion Shores is a planned surf community in Washington, Utah, centered around surf lagoons and wave pools. Construction began in July 2025, and developers expect the project to be completed in the summer of 2027.

Cody Larkin, founder of Zion Shores, previously developed Southern Shores in Hurricane, Utah. Southern Shores is a boating lake community with a surfing system similar to the one planned for Zion Shores.

At Southern Shores, only residents could access the surfing amenities. Larkin said the popularity of the surfing system motivated him to expand access through Zion Shores.

It was such a hit, and everybody loved it so much that we thought this would be a great amenity that would be good for the public in general, Larkin said.

In 2022, Alaia Developers approached Cody Larkin about creating Zion Shores.

They had just purchased the property and said to us that they had water on the property that was brackish water, Larkin said. No one wanted it because it wouldnt be useful for drinking water or culinary purposes or even irrigation.

Since then, Larkin and the Zion Shores team have worked to develop the surf community.

Zion Shores will include 65 lots surrounding one of the lagoons. After purchasing a lot, homeowners can work with one of the two designated builders to construct a home on the property.

Although only two homes are currently under construction, realtor Josh Chamberlain expects construction activity to increase after developers complete the wave pools next February.

They want to make sure the project gets to the point where they feel comfortable building a home, Chamberlain said. We dont want to make them do anything or rush into anything.

Still, Chamberlain said homeowners have financial incentives to build sooner rather than later.

Theyre spending almost $2 million on some of these plots. Theyre not going to hold that for very long without wanting to build and make their money back or vacation there, he said.

Chamberlain also said the demand has been high, with half of the lots already sold. However, the demand has also come with public concern.

Most criticism surrounding the project has focused on water usage. Brad Spilka, a water policy analyst who holds a masters degree in environmental science and policy from the University of Chicago, expressed concerns about the project in the comments of a Zion Shores social media post.

Spilka wrote on the post that this video and the information on their website fail to adequately explain how they will sustainably use water.

While raising concerns, Spilka acknowledged that much of the projects technical information is not publicly available.

"This information for Zion Shores, as you know, is private, and it's hard for me to speak and critique their stuff because it's not publicly available," Spilka said. "But as someone who works in the policy section, these are just questions I have."

He said his concerns stem largely from what he sees as a lack of publicly available information about the projects water management plans.

"I don't think they're doing a good job of sharing that information and making it public because I think it would open them up to more criticism," Spilka said.

Concerns over water usage come as Utah continues to face drought conditions and water conservation challenges.

You dont have to work in water efficiency to know that this just doesnt seem like a great idea, Spilka said.

The Zion Shores website states that the surf lagoons will be filled with non-potable brackish water from private onsite wells. According to the website, the project will not draw from public drinking or irrigation supplies.

The water, as it is coming out of the ground, is totally safe to swim in, Larkin said. As it comes out of the ground, its about one-tenth the salt consistency of the ocean.

Larkin said the company is also building an on-site treatment facility that gradually removes salt from the water.

Its an intricate type of reverse osmosis with many stages, and its super expensive. But its all an effort to make sure that we are keeping the water really pristine and clean, Larkin said.

Community members have also raised concerns about evaporation in a desert climate. Spilka said there are no technologies that can completely eliminate evaporation.

Any value of water in Southern Utah in the high deficit is going to face evaporation concerns. I just don't think there's a way around it, Spilka said.

Larkin said the company does not view evaporation as a major concern.

Its not really a concern for us because we have probably 10 times the amount of water that we need for our pool, Larkin said. Were using a very small amount of the resource that we have.

Some community members also questioned why Washington City could not use the water for other purposes. In a Washington City media statement, city officials said the water was not suitable for drinking.

The water that the developer has a right to, is not suitable for secondary use nor drinking, and will come from the existing wells in that area, it stated.

Larkin echoed that point, saying the waters quality makes it unlikely to be used by the public.

People are really concerned about water, and when they dont recognize the kind of water that we have and that its not being utilized and will probably never be utilized by the public, he said.

Spilka, however, argued that brackish groundwater actually can be used for other purposes.

Brackish groundwater may be used for a variety of purposes other than drinking water. You could use it as cooling during power generation, Spilka said. That could be a great use of it.

Chamberlain addressed the concerned community members, arguing that developers should not be blamed for going forward with the plan.

Its interesting how people get mad at developers because if the citys super concerned about water, why would they approve these projects? Chamberlain said.

However, Washington City Mayor Kress Staheli said the city had limited authority over the project because of prior land and water entitlements.

Unfortunately, decades-old land and water entitlements didnt allow us to deny an unanticipated use that prior elected officials didnt see coming, Staheli said.

Staheli also said Zion Shores water usage conflicts with the citys priorities.

The optics and use are contrary to all of the efforts we have been making in prioritizing water for life and livelihood, Staheli said.

He reiterated that the city lacked the authority to reject the development. The projects water entitlements and approvals date back nearly 20 years, limiting the citys options during negotiations.

A negotiated reduction in surface area and a contract prohibiting them from using city drinking, or culinary, water was the best we could do given the circumstances, he stated.

The city negotiated a 25% reduction in pond surface area and secured an agreement prohibiting the use of city culinary water for the project.

Despite ongoing controversy over water usage, city officials said they appreciated the negotiations that reduced the projects impact.

The city appreciates that the developer was willing to negotiate and work with city leadership and staff to get this project to a better place, the media statement said.

Construction on the project is ongoing, with developers expecting to finish the wave pools in early 2027 and the broader development plans that summer.