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State water plan draft sent to agencies; watershed councils to review in May ahead of July public comment
Summary
Division of Water Resources gave a timeline: chapters 1–8 of a mostly complete draft were with sister agencies for comment (due April 14); the draft is expected to be distributed to watershed councils in early May for a three‑week review window, with public comment in early July and a final plan by December 2026.
State Water Plan Manager Steph McGinness briefed the Utah Watershed Council on the plan's progress and upcoming review schedule. Agency reviewers were asked to return comments by April 14; the plan team aims to hand a mostly complete draft (chapters 1–8) to watershed councils between May 7 and May 11 and requested a three‑week window for council feedback.
McGinness said chapter 8 will include a two‑page spread for each watershed council (a high‑level overview and a success story) and asked councils to prioritize review of chapters most relevant to them (for example, communities, healthy watersheds, agriculture). After council review, the Division plans a public comment period in early July and intends to publish the final plan in December 2026. The division will share the draft as a Google document for comment and offered alternate submission methods (email, phone) for councils that prefer other formats.
McGinness also said the Division hopes to make the state water plan an iterative product, updating it more frequently than the statutory 10‑year minimum (internal target: about every five years) to allow closer collaboration with watershed councils on updates and implementation.
