State water plan manager asks local watershed councils for input, sets tight timeline to December 2026

Steph McGinnis, state water plan manager for the Utah Division of Water Resources, told the Southeastern Utah Watershed Council on April 14 that the state is revising its water plan and needs input from local watershed councils.

McGinnis said the plan is now governed by House Bill 280 from the 2024 legislative session and that the state must update the plan "no less frequently than every 10 years," while the division's internal goal is to update about every five years. "I wish we had 5 years, but we'll have a completed plan by December of 20 26," she said.

The council was asked to expect a short survey in the coming weeks that will collect local issues, needs and possible projects. McGinnis said each local watershed council will have about two to three pages allocated in the final document; those pages should highlight local problems, proposed solutions and at least one local project or success story the council wants elevated to the state level.

McGinnis outlined the schedule she is working toward: a survey release within weeks, public scoping meetings in each basin in late summer and early fall, a first-draft circulated in December 2025 for review, and a target for publication in December 2026. She emphasized the plan's limited real estate — the draft is targeted at roughly 50 pages statewide — and asked councils to be strategic about what they ask the state to highlight.

The manager requested two light commitments from the council: (1) a small subgroup to help review survey results and "elevate common themes" into concise topics; and (2) local assistance to identify suitable venues, dates and local representation for basin-level public scoping meetings. McGinnis said she would welcome council members who "love to write" but stressed that the main task would be a short review conversation rather than heavy drafting.

Council members discussed logistics and representation for public scoping meetings. McGinnis suggested two scoping sessions for the region might be appropriate and said she would coordinate with local water districts and conservancy districts to reach broader local audiences. She also offered printed outlines of the plan and invited members to request paper copies.

Why it matters: the state water plan is a tool the division will use to brief legislators, prioritize funding and identify technical needs across basins. McGinnis told the council that locally framed items in the plan could help make the case for funding and other support at the state level.

Next steps: council members will receive the survey and have the opportunity to respond as a council and to distribute it to local stakeholders where appropriate. The council agreed to identify volunteers to review survey results and to work with division staff on scoping meeting logistics.