The fourth annual Utah Water Symposium was hosted on Oct. 17 by the Utah Legislature and Utah Department of Nature Resources to discuss the best practices and procedures of using the state’s water.

In attendance were industry leaders, policy experts, elected officials, and symposium stakeholders.

“As stewards of our natural resources, we carry the responsibility to plan for the future, just as the pioneers before us did,” said Senate President J. Stuart Adams in a press release. “Through creative solutions, foresight, strategic partnerships and forward-thinking policies, we will ensure Utah’s water resources meet the demands – both today and for generations to come.”

As of Oct. 15, just before the symposium, about 426,579 residents in Utah were considered to be in drought areas which is around 26% of the state’s population, per the United States’ drought monitor. Most of which, 24%, are in the moderate drought category with very few, less than 2%, in the severe drought category. In mid-October in 2023, statistics showed about 8% of the population in drought, all in the moderate drought category with none in severe drought.

About 97% of the state is currently in the abnormally dry range due to “underwhelming” seasonal rains this summer, the Utah Department of Natural Resources said in a mid-August update. The upside is that the state’s reservoirs were also at 82% of capacity on average during that time too.

“Mother Nature is doing her part,” said the update. “We need to continue to do ours and look for ways to use our water supply efficiently and become more drought resilient.” 

Recent efforts to conserve water in the state have been more extensive than in previous years. According to Utah’s Great Salt Lake website, the legislative sessions of 2022 and 2023 ended with nearly $1 billion in spending for water conservation.

“Over the last several years, we have made tremendous progress in the way we think about and manage water in the Beehive State,” said Speaker Mike Schultz in a release. “Governments, businesses, and everyday citizens have come together to conserve and safeguard our precious water resources like never before. We must continue to examine past policies to determine what’s working and what needs improvement, find opportunities to increase and improve our water supply and infrastructure, and ensure that we are conserving every drop of water that enters our state.” 

The symposium “demonstrates our collective commitment to ensuring water security,” said the Utah Department of Resources Executive Director, Joel Ferry, in a release. 

“We recognize there is more work to be done, and we need to evaluate the effectiveness of newly implemented initiatives,” he said. “But we celebrate the unprecedented collaboration, investment and policy updates that have taken place.” λ