Utah water official briefs Emery County Public Lands Council on recent water bills, Colorado River deadline and new Water Right Network

Emery County Public Lands Council members heard a legislative and program update from Cash Stallings, regional engineer for the Utah Division of Water Rights, who summarized multiple bills affecting state water policy, federal reserve-style claims on public lands and new state investments in mapping and data tools.

Stallings told the council the Legislature approved changes intended to strengthen groundwater monitoring and emphasize the state water plan. “Legislatures are going to use the state water plan to make funding decisions,” Stallings said, urging local stakeholders to get projects into the plan so they will be considered for funding.

The update covered several bill categories and near-term deadlines that could affect water users in Emery County. Stallings highlighted: (1) state water policy amendments that emphasize groundwater-quality monitoring and the state water plan; (2) clarifying changes to water-right application and reinstatement processes; (3) new state parameters for so-called PWR-107 claims that apply to springs and stock-watering on public lands; (4) expanded agricultural optimization incentives that raise grant funding from 50% to up to 75% for certain projects; and (5) continued attention to secondary-water metering requirements in selected county classes (Emery County is currently outside the counties required to meter).

Stallings explained that the PWR-107 legislation addresses claims tied to a 1926 executive order and creates a statutory process for how the state engineer will handle those submissions. He said the law applies to springs and natural water holes for stock or domestic use and does not apply to manmade impoundments or reaches of a stream.

On funding and technology, Stallings described the Water Right Network, a multi‑year Division project to make water-rights data more visual and accessible online. The governor’s office is funding three additional full‑time positions focused on building similar tools for Great Salt Lake issues. Stallings said the network’s maps and measurement products are already available for Colorado River Basin users and that the team will do local outreach and verification with irrigation companies and other users over the coming year.

Stallings also warned of an approaching federal scheduling deadline tied to the Colorado River. He said current interim operating guidelines expire in October 2026 and the seven basin states must reach agreement on new rules soon or risk reverting to a 1922 allocation framework. “If they don’t come up with [a plan] in the next three months, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to hit any of the other deadlines,” Stallings said.

Council members asked clarifying questions about which counties must meter secondary water, how tiered rates are intended to work (Stallings said the statute defines secondary water and that tiers are expected to be volume-based), and which Ag Optimization projects now qualify for higher grant levels (subsurface drip, automated surge and measurement/telemetry). Stallings recommended that local water projects be raised with council members and the watershed council so they can be included in the state water plan and legislative funding discussions.

Votes at a glance: At the start of the meeting the council approved the meeting minutes. The motion to approve was made by Bruce and seconded by Varian and was recorded as approved.

Why it matters: The bills and programs Stallings described change how public‑land water claims for stock and domestic springs are processed, shift funding incentives for agricultural water projects and expand the state’s investment in water‑rights transparency. For Emery County — which lies inside the state’s Western Colorado Watershed Council area — those shifts affect local project funding opportunities, how federal public‑land water claims are asserted and how water users can access official records and tools.

What’s next: Stallings said the Division’s Water Right Network team will be engaging locally to verify data with irrigation companies, private diverters and other stakeholders. He urged anyone with potential water projects to work with council members and watershed partners so those projects are visible to the state water planning and funding process.