The Graveyard of Water Conservation
Legislative Update on Water Conservation
Dear River Warrior,
There are dozens of bills on water this legislative session, some good and some bad. The Utah Rivers Council has refocused our efforts on two bills, H.B. 40 sponsored by Representative Melissa Ballard and H.B. 328 proposed by Representative Joel Ferry. A broad overview of all of the water bills can be found HERE and HERE.
H.B. 40 is written in collaboration with the American Water Works Association, the largest water trade organization in America, and this bill would save water by addressing leaks and other inefficiencies in our municipal water supply. H.B. 40 would create an advisory committee that provides technical assistance to water systems and would implement software that helps water providers identify the best bang for their buck conserving water. By fixing these leaks within our water systems, the bill is estimated to save 26,000 acre feet of water annually for a one time cost of $1.5 million.
Unfortunately, the bill is held in the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee due to strong opposition to water conservation from four of the largest Water Districts in the State.
Lobbyists for these four Water Districts are using taxpayer dollars to oppose H.B. 40. The bill is being held in committee as lobbyists from these districts continue to push for expensive development projects like $3 billion Bear River Development and instead kill inexpensive conservation programs like H.B. 40. These Water District lobbyists are avoiding transparent discussions around water conservation by preventing a good bill from even being discussed on the house floor.
Unfortunately, this is part of a larger narrative that demonstrates a sustained effort by these Water Districts to oppose water conservation in the second most arid state in the nation. Several water conservation bills like H.B. 40 have died at the hands of their lobbyists. During the second session a bill designed to conserve water by amending the Water Conservation Plan Act was opposed by some of the 40 registered lobbyists for these four large Water Districts. The bill simply called for water suppliers to study what it would take to lower their water use similar to that of other Western states like Colorado and California. The bill did not mandate lowering water use, it only began to research statewide water use and worked to identify effective conservation programs and technologies. Through their opposition to this bill, Water District lobbyists demonstrated once again that they do not support even basic water conservation efforts.
These districts oppose common sense water conservation bills like H.B. 40 because they jeopardize the need and funding for future projects such as Bear River Development and the Lake Powell Pipeline, two multi-billion dollar water development projects. According to Zachary Frankel, the Executive Director of the Utah Rivers Council, the lobbying efforts against H.B. 40 mirror a disturbing pattern in the legislature where “bills that are proposing to save water are dying and the bills that are advancing are the ones that fund very expensive delivery water projects like the Lake Powell Pipeline."
In fact, in the same committee where H.B. 40 is currently being held, Rep. Ferry has introduced new legislation, H.B. 328, which proposes diverting the prized Green River to bring water to the Wasatch Front. Already, the State has spent $3.5 billion to divert water from the Green River through the Central Utah Water Project. This new attempt would waste even more taxpayer money and would be detrimental to the drought-stricken Colorado River Basin. The Green River provides 40 percent of the Colorado River water at Lake Powell and any new diversions would put this water source for the entire Southwestern U.S. in serious jeopardy of drying up.
It is shameful that unnecessary, expensive, and destructive projects like Lake Powell Pipeline and the proposed diversion of the Green River are advancing as commonsense water conservation bills like H.B. 40 are being killed off by Water District Lobbyists and sent to the graveyard of conservation.
The Utah Rivers Council is working tirelessly to combat the lobbying efforts of these four water districts, but we need your help! Please contact the Representatives that sit on the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee (Link) and urge them to Vote YES on H.B. 40 which is being heard in Committee this Monday, February 24th at 4PM at the Capitol Building in Room C445. Additionally, H.B. 328 will likely be heard in Committee this coming Wednesday, February 26th. Please demand these House Representatives Vote NO on H.B. 328 because it continues a dangerous trajectory of water management in this state that prioritizes special interest agencies over the economic well being of our residents and the vitality of our aquatic landscapes.
Rep. Keven Stratton: kstratton@le.utah.gov 801-836-6010
Rep. Logan Wilde: loganwilde@le.utah.gov 435-412-4384
Rep. Carl Albrecht: carlalbrecht@le.utah.gov 435-979-6578
Rep. Joe Briscoe: jbriscoe@le.utah.gov 801-946-9791
Rep. Scott Chew: scottchew@le.utah.gov 435-630-0221
Rep. Susan Duckworth: sduckworth@le.utah.gov 801-250-0728
Rep. Joel Ferry: jferry@le.utah.gov 801-726-4032
Rep. Timothy Hawkes: thawkes@le.utah.gov 801-928-9008
Rep. Phil Lyman: plyman@le.utah.gov 435-459-2800
Rep. Michael Mikell: 801-210-1495
Rep. Derrin Owens: derrinowens@le.utah.gov 435-851-1284
Rep. Douglas Sagers: dougsagers@le.utah.gov 435-830-3485
Rep. Christine Watkins: christinewatkins@le.utah.gov 435-650-1969