SALT LAKE CITY (Jan. 13, 2022) – Gov. Spencer Cox and state agencies released the first chapter of Utah’s Coordinated Action Plan for Water today – a groundbreaking effort to tackle water issues through bold action. Strategies outlined in this action plan will secure a sustainable and prosperous future for Utahns.

“The extreme drought conditions this past year have shown all Utahns the importance of water planning and conservation,” Gov. Cox said. “We have benefited from water storage decisions made by policymakers 100 years ago. Now it’s our turn to ensure water security for future generations and this plan will do this.”

Rapid growth and new challenges related to our climate means that Utah must take a comprehensive, proactive approach to conservation and planning for our future. Additionally, the One Utah Roadmap directs agencies to, “establish a statewide water cooperative action plan that prioritizes conservation, storage, agriculture preservation, and use optimization.”

Past planning efforts have generated a list of more than 200 recommendations and actions to safeguard and improve the state’s water resources for a healthy and prosperous Utah. The goal of Utah’s Coordinated Action Plan for Water is to compile past recommendations, prioritize them, negotiate trade-offs among competing objectives, and create a plan of action for the state’s top priorities to ensure the best use of this valuable resource. The schedule for additional chapters can be found at gopb.utah.gov/waterplan.

This effort is a collaboration between the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF).

Download a copy of this press release here.

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