State water plan manager asks Cedar‑Beaver council for local input, outlines timeline to Dec. 2026

Stephanie McGinnis, the new state water plan manager at the Utah Division of Water Resources, told the Cedar‑Beaver Watershed Council that state law now requires the statewide plan be updated at least every 10 years and that the division hopes to update it more frequently.

"The state water plan must be updated no less frequently than every 10," McGinnis said, adding that the division’s internal goal is to update the plan about every five years.

The state water plan guides decision‑making for communities, agriculture and ecosystems across Utah and can influence legislation and funding priorities. McGinnis told council members she wants basin‑level input to shape the plan’s chapter on local basins and asked council members to complete a short survey, join a small subcommittee to synthesize responses, and help publicize and host a single public scoping meeting for the basin this summer or early fall.

McGinnis described recent statutory changes that name state agencies and local entities — including watershed councils and water conservancy districts — as collaborators in plan development. She said the division plans to produce a concise state plan (her…