Utah’s designated representative in the discussions, Colorado River Commissioner of Utah Gene Shawcroft, said the drought has made planning difficult. “It’s hard to look out four or five years if you can’t see past next spring,” Shawcroft said.
Compared to neighboring states, Utah is less dependent on water from the Colorado River. Still, Utah is aggressively pursuing conservation measures through a broad suite of state legislation passed this year, including a law that allows farmers to forgo irrigation without losing their water rights.
Its sprawling urban centers along the Wasatch Front, which are home to 80% of the state’s population, are outside of the Colorado River Basin and are less dependent on the river than cities like Phoenix or Las Vegas. Only 27% of the water used in Utah comes from the Colorado River, with the majority of the state’s water supply coming from other rivers that feed into the Great Salt Lake.
Utah’s designated representative in the discussions, Colorado River Commissioner of Utah Gene Shawcroft, said the drought has made planning difficult. Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University, said that since 2001 agriculture has used over two-thirds of the Colorado River water in Utah. An additional 15% is pumped out of the basin, primarily to supply the Wasatch Front.
The potential retirement of coal plants in Utah in the next decade, which use 6% of the Colorado River water, could also free up some supply for conservation or other uses.
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