Utah's plan to combat drought and secure water resources gains strength

SALT LAKE CITY — Two state water experts met recently with Dr. Liam Fox, a global water supply specialist and the recent author of "The Coming Storm: Why Water Will Write The 21st Century," to discuss how to improve water security in Utah.

"We're seeing more extremes in our water supply. We're seeing hotter hots (and) drier dries. In 2021 (and) 2022, we saw some of the worst drought conditions on record, at least in our lifetime," Utah Division of Water Resources Director Candice Hasenyager told Friday's crowd gathered at the Museum of Natural History.

"And then, in 2023, we saw one of the biggest snowpacks statewide that we've seen in our record."

Long-term solutions for resources provided by Mother Nature are complex because of uncertainty in the supply that a region will be granted. As the fastest-growing state in 2024, with a similarly growing demand for water, as well as agricultural and recreational needs, there is recognition across the political divide of the need to shore up Utah's water supplies.

A member of the Conservative Party and former secretary of state for defense of the United Kingdom, Fox said he was always surprised that environmental issues seemed left-leaning.

"I believe, as a conservative, that husbanding the resources that you have inherited is a God-given duty that we should be very upfront about in a conservative agenda," he said, adding that he thinks the emphasis should be on humanitarian and ethical concerns when planning for the future.

"When you're well fed, and you have plenty to drink, you have lots of problems because you're thinking about everything else in your life that's going on. But when you're hungry or thirsty, you have one problem," Joel Ferry, appointed by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox in 2022 as the executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, told the Deseret News. "We want to be addressing these issues before they get so dark and bleak."

Utah's steps toward conservation

Hasenyager said following the severe droughts Utah experienced in recent years, state policymakers began taking the issue of water scarcity more seriously.

"The legislature appropriated about a billion dollars for water conservation, for our infrastructure, Great Salt Lake issues, Colorado River issues, just a significant amount of investment," she said. "There was also a significant amount of changes within water policy, including some of the most, I'd say, almost progressive in Utah compared to the rest of the western states."

"Use it or lose it" was the slogan for water management across the western United States. Owners of water rights in Utah had to use the water they were allotted, or they risked losing their rights to it, leading to — at times — poor water usage. "But now, because of some of the policies that have been implemented, an irrigator could make a change application on that saved water to do something else with it," Hasenyager added.

A bill passed in the Legislature earlier this year and signed by Gov. Cox made it possible for the Great Salt Lake to hold a water right. In Utah's "150 years of history, any water that got to the Great Salt Lake, the policy of the state of Utah was that water was wasted," Ferry said. "We have made it possible so a body of water like the Great Salt Lake can now hold a water right."

Federal actions on Great Salt Lake

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, as well as Utah Reps. John Curtis and Burgess Owens and former Rep. Chris Stewart, helped pass the Great Salt Lake Recovery Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022. The bill authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study the conditions of the saline lakes in the Great Basin, including the Great Salt Lake, to help with management and conservation plans. The bill also funds a study of problems brought on by drought conditions at the lake, and possible solutions.

Last week, Romney said he secured funding for these programs as part of the appropriations process in the Senate. The funding bill still needs to pass the full Senate and House.

"For the last several years, I have made it a top priority to preserve and protect our iconic Great Salt Lake," Romney said per a press release. "I'm glad to see the Appropriations Committee provide funding for my legislation that complements the work being done by the state of Utah to develop a permanent solution to save our Great Salt Lake. We are another step closer to ensuring this critical body of water remains a part of our landscape and ecosystem for many generations to come."

In February, the Biden administration released plans related to the bipartisan infrastructure bill that included $43 million in water infrastructure upgrades for Utah. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Utah has received over $175 million in funds for water infrastructure projects since 2022. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality manages the funding and aims to protect public health and conserve water.

"When you look at the policies, they have been wide and vast, and it goes from everything from dealing with how we address agricultural waters to how we are dealing with new development," Ferry said. "We're an incredible state, beautiful state, and we're constantly doing more towards these efforts because we recognize the needs."

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