Water

Ensuring a reliable water supply is critical to our state’s long-term prosperity. Through strategic management, conservation measures, improved infrastructure and innovative policy solutions, we are helping to ensure Utah can keep up with increased growth.

In the past few years, progress made includes:

  • Investing over $1 billion into water conservation and infrastructure efforts and continuing to build on those investments with smart water policies.
  • Establishing a Water Agent and Water Council to guide statewide efforts, bringing enhanced coordination and planning to water management. 
  • Passing legislation that paved the way for Compass Minerals, a private company, to donate 200,000 acre-feet of water rights annually to the state, equivalent to the combined volume of Causey, Echo, Pineview, Lost Creek and Rockport reservoirs. 

Thanks to a combination of strong policy efforts, public conservation and two plentiful water years, we are seeing improvement. These efforts help address Utah’s water challenges head-on, laying the groundwork to sustain our quality of life and support growth for the next 100 years and beyond.

2025 Legislation Highlights

  • S.B. 80 Water Fee Amendments addresses Utah’s growing need for safe and reliable drinking water by allowing the Department of Environmental Quality to impose a consumption-based fee. With federal funding decreasing and unable to keep pace with the state’s growth, this bill creates a pathway for a sustainable funding source while incentivizing water conservation. It ensures a thorough review process, requiring approval through public hearings and the Legislature before any fee is implemented.
  • H.B. 89 Water Transfer Amendments enhances oversight of water share transfers by prohibiting the use of small estate affidavit procedures, which allow an estate handler to collect personal property without a court-appointed representative when the estate is considered “small.” Currently, some individuals exploit this process to transfer high-value water shares without proper appraisal or oversight. By requiring all water shares to go through probate—the legal process where a court appoints a representative to oversee estate distribution—this bill prevents misuse, enhances legal clarity and simplifies estate transfers.
  • H.B. 243 Agricultural Water Optimization Amendments gives the Agricultural Water Optimization Committee the ability to use specific funds for research, driving advancements in water conservation techniques and promoting more sustainable agricultural practices.