The Western Governors’ Association announced that Gov. Spencer Cox released the first chapter of Utah’s Coordinated Action Plan for Water that addresses long-term water planning and conservation by prioritizing more than 100 previous recommendations.

The Coordinated Action Plan for Water is a collaboration between the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, the Department of Natural Resource, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Department of Agriculture and Food.  Gov. Cox’ news release characterizes the plan as “a groundbreaking effort to tackle water issues through bold action.”

“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.”

The Plan will prioritize conservation, storage, agriculture preservation, and use optimization.

The Plan will be released in a series of four chapters throughout the year. The introduction and Chapter 1, Investing in Infrastructure, were released on January 12, 2022, and are available now on the State’s Coordinated Action Plan for Water website.