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Utah Division of Water Resources begins state water plan outreach, seeks local input on drought, infrastructure and agriculture
Summary
State officials outlined a 9-chapter, roughly 150-page update to Utah's state water plan, described it as nonregulatory guidance for the governor and Legislature, and asked basin residents to provide local concerns during meetings across 11 basins ahead of a proposed December 2026 final publication.
SALT LAKE CITY — Officials from the Utah Division of Water Resources on Monday launched local outreach for an updated state water plan, asking residents and local partners to identify basin-specific threats and priorities as the state faces recurrent drought and falling reservoir levels.
Joel Williams, deputy director at the Utah Division of Water Resources, opened the session and thanked participants, saying, “I mainly wanna just express appreciation for each of you taking time out of your schedules to show up, to talk with us about water in your area.”
The division's state water plan manager, Stephanie McGinnis, said the plan will be a high-level, strategic framework intended for the governor and state lawmakers rather than a regulatory document. “This plan is not a guarantee of water. It's also not a regulatory document,” McGinnis said, adding that the document is meant to inform decision-making across agencies and local managers.
Why it matters: McGinnis emphasized that Utah has spent about 40 to 50 percent of weeks in drought between 2000 and 2019, citing U.S.…
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