Division of Water Resources asks watershed councils to help shape 2026 state water plan

Stephanie McGinnis, division of water resources, briefed the Sevier Watershed Council on the Division’s timeline and outreach for the next Utah State Water Plan and asked watershed council members to help gather basin-level information.

McGinnis said the Legislature’s House Bill 280 (2024) requires the state water plan be updated at least every 10 years and that the Division has an internal goal to update the plan roughly every five years. “I think we could pretty safely just cut and paste this right into the the next plan,” she said, referring to language the Division intends to reuse describing the plan’s purposes.

The council was asked to complete a short online survey—estimated at 10 to 20 minutes—and return responses by July 10 to inform basin chapters. McGinnis said each basin will receive a two- to three-page “basin and perspective” summary in the final plan and that the Division will host public scoping meetings in basins in August, September and possibly mid-October. She also asked for a few volunteers to serve on light subcommittees (about 10 hours total over several months) to vet and synthesize survey responses for their basins.

Why it matters: McGinnis described the plan as a 150-page document organized into nine chapters meant to present supply and demand, constraints (including laws and decrees), and recommended strategies for supporting communities, agriculture, recreation and the environment within Utah’s finite water supply. The Division will use basin summaries to highlight local challenges, needs and successes and then scale those items into statewide strategies.

Details and next steps: McGinnis said chapters 2–4 will address the physical and planning constraints (supply, uncertainty and law/policy), while chapters 5–7 will consider community, agricultural and ecosystem support. She reiterated the request that councils identify local successes and projects for the basin pages and noted the Division will accept project submissions to the Unified Water Infrastructure Plan (UWIP) on approximately an annual schedule. “This shouldn't take too long. I think probably max about 20 minutes,” McGinnis said of the survey.

The Division plans to compile survey results, send condensed summaries back to the volunteer subcommittees for review, and then write the basin text. McGinnis said the Division will draft the content and return it for council review—expecting only one or two follow-up meetings per basin. The Division aims to publish the next iteration of the state water plan by December 2026 in order to meet the statute’s timeline.

Materials and outreach: McGinnis offered to send the slide deck and links to the state water plan website and the UWIP portal after the meeting, and asked council members to share public‑scoping meeting notices through their local networks. She also asked councils to help identify good venues and times for basin scoping meetings.

What the council agreed: Members asked clarifying questions about where to find the plan online and about UWIP submission timing. McGinnis said she would email the slide deck, the survey link and instructions for volunteering on the subcommittees after the meeting.

—Ending note: The Division’s outreach request centers on short, time‑bound tasks (survey by July 10 and light subcommittee work) intended to feed basin summaries for the statewide plan due in late 2026. Council members said they will share the survey and consider volunteering to review condensed basin responses.