The start of the Jordan River along the north shore of Utah Lake is pictured on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. The Utah Division of Natural Resources recently announced a 10,000 acre-foot donation of water to the Great Salt Lake, conveyed by the Jordan River. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch.)
By the year 2060, Utah will have nearly $60 billion in water infrastructure needs, including improvements to drinking water, water quality and irrigation.
That’s according to a report from the Utah Division of Water Resources, delivered to lawmakers last week by director Candice Hasenyager during a Legislative Water Development Commission meeting.
According to Hasenyager’s report, the state will have about $38.2 billion in drinking water needs, $15 billion for water quality needs and $6 billion for irrigation and canal projects, all by 2060.
“When we look into the future, we have significant water needs,” Hasenyager told lawmakers during the meeting, calling it a “big, big number.”
Hasenyager pointed to a 2020 report from the American Society of Civil Engineers, which found much of the state’s water infrastructure needs updating. Utah’s canals got a D+, its dams got a C+, its drinking water infrastructure got a B- and its levees got a D-.
Those areas will all require funding for upgrades in the coming decades, Hasenyager said.
“We all know there is a need for it, and these projects are not getting any cheaper, so the sooner we get them done, the better,” said Sen. David Hinkins, R-Ferron, during the meeting.
Funding for water infrastructure comes from a variety of sources — local water suppliers and water districts can help shoulder the burden for local projects, funded by user fees and property taxes. The state takes 1/16 of every penny to fund different water programs, and takes another 1/16 for the Water Infrastructure Restricted Account, which as of 2024, had a balance of about $241 million.
The state offers grants and appropriations for water projects, and although Hasenyager said federal funds are dwindling, they are still used for infrastructure in Utah.
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