Utah passes agriculture water optimization measure, weighs another change
A bill that allows farmers and ranchers who optimize their water use to sell their conserved water for conservation purposes without losing their water rights cleared the Utah Legislature on Wednesday, as efforts to better track “saved” water intensifies. The Utah House of Representatives voted 66-3 on Wednesday to adopt SB18 after the Senate approved the measure with a 27-0 vote last month. The bill will head to Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk for his signature. The vote happened after members of the House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee unanimously voted to advance HB448 earlier in the day. That bill would require the Utah Division of Water Resources to monitor state legislative water optimization efforts along the Great Salt Lake, Colorado River and Sevier River basins, and report its findings back to the state.