Sen. Daniel McCay has introduced a bill addressing water use at golf courses. SB 195 requires the Utah State University Institute of Land, Air and Water to study water use at all Utah golf courses. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah’s golf courses used about 23,600 acre-feet of water in 2022.
However, the bill also makes water data gathered from public and private golf courses protected. Right now, public golf courses are required to provide that information.
Making the data protected means the information would not be public and would not be released under Utah’s Government Records Access and Management Act.
This has earned the bill a “closed door” rating from the Utah Transparency Project, which rates legislative proposals based on their level of government transparency and accountability. The project says the information is vital and can help policymakers address Utah’s water crisis, but only if the information is available to the public.
Sen. McCay did not respond to KPCW’s request for comment.
David Tarboton is the director of Utah State University’s Water Research Laboratory. He said since the Great Salt Lake is at critically low levels and Utah is a dry state, information about water is crucial.
“We need to understand where the water comes from, how much it’s used, where it's used, so we can appropriately balance where to implement the conservation needed to restore the lake or needed to provide water to the most beneficial needs,” Tarboton said.
He said water use at golf courses is one part of the equation.
The bill has passed through the Senate but does not have a House sponsor as of Feb. 13.