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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. Drought Monitor data, and noted long-term declines in reservoir storage. She said Lake Powell had dropped to roughly 29 percent of capacity in the recent period cited during the presentation. Those trends, officials said, underline the need to update planning, data collection and infrastructure priorities.
What the plan will include: McGinnis said the forthcoming plan will have nine chapters and about 150 pages. It will summarize statewide water constraints, supply and use (a current water budget), drivers of change such as climate and population, and water administration roles from state agencies down to local irrigation companies. Other chapters will address watershed protection, community resilience (including infrastructure and water-use efficiency), and productive agriculture with programs such as the Agricultural Water Optimization Program.
Local emphasis and tools: The division plans to compile basin-level concerns across 11 hydrologic basins and link the statewide plan to more detailed local plans. McGinnis described the division's participation in a multiyear pilot using the Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) to better estimate snowpack water content across entire basins rather than relying only on point measurements.
Funding and coordination: McGinnis referred to the Unified Water Infrastructure Plan (UF), a new program intended to improve coordination and funding for water infrastructure projects. She outlined agricultural programs and incentives, including competitive grants for on-farm and canal- or irrigation-company projects, and referenced the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food's voluntary incentive programs for best-management practices.
How the public can participate: The division is holding basin meetings through late October, will draft the plan over the winter, and plans a public comment period next summer on a near-final draft. McGinnis told attendees the division hopes to publish a final plan by December 2026 and asked participants to complete a survey or email feedback to statewaterplan@utah.gov.
Local partners and concerns: McGinnis thanked the Cedar Beaver Watershed Council and other watershed councils for local input, and asked meeting attendees to prioritize topics such as healthy watersheds, vibrant communities, and productive agriculture during small-group discussions following the presentation.
Scope and limits: Officials repeatedly noted the plan is intended to inform policy and investment decisions but does not itself change water law. McGinnis said the Division of Water Resources is not a regulatory agency and that the plan's audience is primarily policymakers and water managers.
Next steps: Staff will collect and record local input during basin meetings and via online surveys; that feedback will be used to draft the updated plan, which will be returned to the public for comment next summer. The division also asked participants to limit initial comments during local discussions to allow broad participation and said sessions were being recorded to ensure accurate note-taking.
— Reporting in this article is based on the Utah Division of Water Resources basin outreach session presentation and on recorded remarks by Joel Williams and Stephanie McGinnis during the meeting.
