SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers created a new water agent and development council last year, aiming to secure future water needs as the state grows, including the possibility of negotiating for additional water outside of the state's boundaries.
Joel Ferry, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources and the state's water agent, told lawmakers that efforts to "try to fulfill this mission" are underway but warns it will be easier said than done.
"I have — with others — traveled to other states, to other areas, and we're constantly working (and) trying to figure out what is the best solution and best pathway forward," he told members of Utah's Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee on Monday.
"I can tell you that this is one of those Herculean efforts," he added, explaining that Utah isn't alone in its challenges. "Every state, every area, every region, every neighboring country is suffering or struggling with these same types of questions."
Some growth has occurred within the new water agent and water development council structure. Ferry's side has hired one full-time staff member, while the council hired a "small team of advisers" and a technical director to oversee future developments.
Alan Packard, general manager of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, one of the districts included in a state water development council, said the different districts have approved interlocal agreements. He and Ferry spoke to the subcommittee not to make a funding request, but to offer an overview of likely future discussions almost a year after the office was established.
The Colorado River remains one of the biggest questions. While the river only accounts for about a quarter of the state's water supply, the state estimates that about 60% of residents rely on it for their water needs. About 40 million are befitted by the river throughout the basin.
Utah currently receives 23% of the Upper Basin's allocation through the Colorado River Compact signed in 1922.
However, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, suggested that a pipeline or renegotiations over the deal could be part of a new water agent program when he unveiled his bill to create the system last year. This could be done by potentially helping Lower Basin states like California build desalination plants in exchange for river water shares.
Adams told reporters Monday that there are "lots of things happening" with the agent and development council, but declined to give specifics because Utah is actively "talking with other states" about water. He added that many other Intermountain West states, including Idaho and Wyoming, are interested in water negotiations.
"We think we can solve our water problems if we come together. ... I think there's a lot of potential," he said, summing up those conversations.
Monday's update comes as the seven Colorado River Basin states continue to negotiate a new agreement over how Lake Powell and Lake Mead are handled beyond 2026. Adams also pointed to the Columbia River and water deals between Canada and Montana as possible outside water sources, though he acknowledged challenges with those.
Of course, other questions include future water availability if climate trends continue as they have the past two decades.
The Colorado River, for example, has struggled to meet demands because of the West's "megadrought." While a productive 2022-23 snowpack eased some impacts, about 40% of the West is back in moderate drought or worse, including nearly all of the Lower Basin region, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Some long-term outlooks aren't promising, either. Ferry points to a report the Great Salt Lake Strike Team released earlier this month, which projects that evaporation will continue to increase within the Great Salt Lake Basin in the coming century.
"That just causes more and more demand on our limited resource," he said, noting major agriculture needs and a growing need from the municipal and industrial sectors. "We're looking at ways (to) augment Utah's water resources."
