State water plan manager asks watershed council for basin input as update proceeds toward Dec. 2026 deadline

Stephanie, the new state water plan manager at the Division of Water Resources, asked members of the Utah Watershed Council on a recent meeting to help shape the State Water Plan update by contributing basin-level comments, identifying local projects and participating in summer scoping meetings.

"I just joined the division of water resources in January, as the new state water plan manager, And I'm really excited to be here with you all," Stephanie said, and outlined a timeline that calls for a publicly reviewable draft this winter and a publication-ready plan by December 2026.

The update matters because state staff and several council members said the plan will inform legislators and funding decisions. Stephanie told the council that state code requires periodic updates to the State Water Plan and that the division’s internal goal is to produce an update every five years while meeting the statutory cycle.

Stephanie described the plan’s proposed structure and schedule: short, high-level chapters (a target of about 50 pages), topical sections on vibrant communities, productive…