It’s the water and a lot more

Water is such a critical resource in the state of Utah. With a desert climate, it is a hot commodity and one that needs to be used wisely. This involves a prudent and wise planning strategy to make sure this valuable resource can be available now and into the future. Utah residents consume a daily average of 167 gallons per person and with a population of just over 3 million (and growing!) in our great state, that is a significant amount of water!

That is exactly why we carefully and closely follow any legislation regarding water usage during the legislative session. Fred Finlinson has drafted a review of bill requests relating to water to be watched this coming legislative session. This is also a great resource to use as a reference for overarching issues of which to be aware. He has organized the upcoming proposals in categories of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The best bills? Those that are boring with no excitement or surprises and limited unknown consequences. The scariest? Ones that no one knows anything about. Watch out for those until more information is available to clarify and justify it being moved to a “good” category. Take a look at the document to be aware of what issues may be facing your district.

The Utah Water Task Force (UWTF) has done a good job of providing a forum for developing and vetting changes to our existing code of water policy. A great question is, “Who gets to vet water policy?” Is it the Legislature with both standing and interim jurisdiction, the Utah Water Task Force, the Irrigators, the Districts, Municipalities, or the regulating agencies? Wisdom and experience dictate that the best answer comes from the involvement of all the water community, not just the legislature.

As Fred states in the document, an old beer commercial has the perfect line, “It’s the Water and a lot More.” For our great state, that is definitely true!