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Gov. Spencer Cox, at Jordanelle, says drought state of emergency likely to come, touts water bills

Gov. Spencer Cox addresses dozens in a clubhouse room at the Jordanelle State Park ahead of holding a bill signing ceremony.
Ben Lasseter
/
KPCW News
Gov. Spencer Cox addresses dozens in a clubhouse room at the Jordanelle State Park ahead of holding a bill signing ceremony.

Governor Spencer Cox paid a visit to the half-full Jordanelle Reservoir Tuesday, where he signed 11 bills for water conservation. He also told KPCW about his long-term outlook on water scarcity amid rapid population growth.

During the ceremony at the Jordanelle State Park, Cox praised the legislature for passing bills to address the heightened strain on water availability. Those bills included funding for water meters at Utahns’ homes, requirements for developments to have water rights and measures specific to the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake. Cox and Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson had already formally signed the bills into law in late March.

While he touted legislators’ work and thanked Utahns for conserving water during the dry summer last year, he also said the state may need to do more if drought persists.

“We look at this constantly,” Cox said. “Every year we look at this, and we react accordingly. So we did have a better winter this year than we had last year, which is good news. So once those laws go into effect, then we'll monitor and see what kind of an impact that those have. And then we'll make decisions again next year.”

Cox said it’s likely he’ll declare another drought state of emergency this year, which he also did in March 2021.

As he signed the bills, he used the reservoir behind him to demonstrate the severity of the toll the recent dry years have taken. The Jordanelle, framed by wide banks of dry land that usually remain underwater, is currently holding just 50% of its capacity.

The Jordanelle is at 50% capacity, according to the Utah State Parks Office.
Ben Lasseter
/
KPCW
The Jordanelle is at 50% capacity, according to the Utah State Parks Office.

Asked by KPCW whether the state would seek to curb future growth if drought persists, Cox cited one bill that requires local governments to manage development based on local water availability.

“Most general plans in this state just looked at land availability,” he said. “They didn't look at water. So by adding that requirement now, it's going to cause city councils and county commissioners to have to start making some really hard decisions, like ‘The state engineer says we have this much this much water. It can accommodate this many homes, and we can't go above that.’”

During the ceremony, Cox signed S.B. 110, which requires water use and preservation to be part of a municipal or county general plan.

He said accommodating growth demands in Utah will also remain a focus.

“We're going to do what we can to accommodate responsible growth for our children and grandchildren so that they can live here, and we do that by conservation,” he said. “We do that by developing water resources, but we don't do it at the expense of overgrowth, over-building and overpopulation.”

Cox closed the ceremony by warning the next few months may be “tough.”

Echoing a message in June 2021, he again called on Utahns to pray for rain. He said that doesn’t mean the state is “just going to do nothing and wait for God to solve all of our problems.” He said the bills he signed after a long legislative process show state officials are “putting [their] money where [their] mouths are.”

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