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House approves water-rights changes to allow groundwater recharge; SB20 passes unanimously
Summary
Senate Bill 20, sponsored in the House by Representative Vickers, clarifies that groundwater recharge may be a legitimate use of water and authorizes the state engineer to identify groundwater rights for potential purchase in over-appropriated basins (e.g., Escalante Valley); the House passed SB20 69–0.
The Utah House on Feb. 2 approved Senate Bill 20, a measure intended to address over-appropriation in some groundwater basins by recognizing groundwater recharge as a legitimate use and authorizing steps to identify and, at later times, buy back water rights where needed.
Representative Vickers, the House sponsor, described the bill as a follow-up to prior legislation and said it would allow the state engineer to identify groundwater rights in designated groundwater management areas so those rights could be purchased or otherwise used to recharge aquifers. He cited the Escalante Valley as an example of where agricultural use has led to over-appropriation and falling water tables.
Representative Draxler spoke in support, noting that treating recharge as a beneficial use is a primary pathway to resolving over-appropriation. Representative Cox asked whether the bill would affect recently passed rainwater-harvesting laws for private property owners; Vickers replied that the bill concerns groundwater rather than surface water and would not affect rainwater-harvesting statutes.
The House then opened and closed the vote; the Clerk announced SB20 passed the House with 69 yes votes and 0 no votes. The bill will be signed by the Speaker Pro Tem and returned to the Senate for the President’s signature.
Ending
SB20 passed the House unanimously and will return to the Senate for formal signature. Implementation actions—such as identification of rights and any purchases—will rest with the state engineer and affected water-rights holders.
