On Thursday, Utah legislators and government officials came together at the Utah Water Symposium and suggested what changes in water law the legislature should focus on in the upcoming legislative session. They gave updates on the current conditions of the Colorado River and water infrastructure.
The Cost of Water Projects
One of the main challenges highlighted during the summit’s panel discussion was balancing water conservation with Utah’s rapid population growth.
“Water in twenty years, if not sooner, will be the limiting factor in terms of growth in this state,” Rep. Casey Snider said at the panel.
A recent report by The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute says Utah’s population is projected to increase by over half a million people by 2033.
In the next legislative session, Snider said lawmakers need to focus on developing a list of projects for new dams and pipelines and hash out the planning details.
“We have to have a robust plan that integrates communities and the districts in the state, so we have a menu to choose from and projects to pick from,” he said.
However, Snider said figuring out how to pay for the new projects while also maintaining existing water infrastructure creates a problem.
Candice Hasenyager, director of the Division of Water Resources, estimated the cost of upgrading existing water systems would be $60 billion.
“[The $60 billion] doesn’t rest all on the state’s shoulders if we have water suppliers and districts and owners of those systems that are going to be looking to upgrade them,” Hasenyager said. “But they often look to the state, especially as federal sources have declined.”
Sen. Scott Sandall said the legislature needs to come up with a “pot of money” to give developers loans.
“We’ve got to do what the federal government did for decades. That allowed us to build a lot of this infrastructure that they’re not going to do anymore,” Sandall said.
On Monday, House Speaker Mike Schultz told Fox 13 News he is planning on “pausing” any new water laws in the next legislative session to assess how the recent laws passed are working.
“We have moved the needle so far with policy over the past couple of years, I think it’s important maybe to take a break for just a minute,” Schultz said.
Utah and the Colorado River
Another issue Utah faces is re-negotiating water rights for the Colorado River. The river supplies one-third of Utahns with drinking water.
In 2021, Utah lawmakers made the Colorado River Authority to help negotiate Utah’s water rights with the six other states that secure water from the river.
Colorado River Commissioner Gene Shawcroft is Utah’s chief negotiator. He said that all seven states agree that the lower basin states, Nevada, Arizona and California, need to reduce their water use by 1.5 million acre-feet.
“The other thing that we have in common is the fact that we need to base our use on actual water rather than forecast,” Shawcroft said. “Over the last 20 years, the forecasts have been a little bit more generous than what Mother Nature actually gave us. So, if you’re working off a forecast that’s higher than what you actually get, sooner or later, the reservoirs come down.”
The current deal expires in 2026. Shawcroft said more work needs to be done before a new one can be agreed to.
“I’m convinced we will come up with a solution and I’m convinced it will not be satisfactory to everyone,” he said. “I don’t know that any agreement on the Colorado River has ever been completely agreed to from the get-go.”
While the panelists discussed the challenges moving forward, they also stressed the progress made in recent years.
In his opening remarks, Joel Ferry, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said policy changes and investments have helped decrease cities’ water consumption by 20%. One program aiding that decrease is the turf buyback program.
“The citizens of Utah … can make these investments and do good things to help conserve water,” he said.
Ferry also mentioned the improvements made with Great Salt Lake.
In 2022, the lake’s water level fell to a record low. But, it increased by 3.5 feet in 2023 after a record-breaking snowpack and the implementation of emergency measures. Ferry said the lake will likely see a net gain of about 3 feet in 2024.
“We have a long way to go still, and we’re making those investments, and the people of Utah are making changes in how they treat and how they act in using our water for the state of Utah,” he said.
