There was a long list of water-related bills that were passed during the 2025 session of the Utah Legislature. Below are the bill summaries (drafted by the water attorneys at Smith Hartvigsen) about these bills that passed.
HB 41 (1st Substitute) – State Water Policy
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
House Bill 41 amends Utah Code section 73-1-21, which
enunciates water policy for the State of Utah. The bills adds promotion of the
quality of groundwater, in addition to lakes and rivers already listed. It also
adds the study of saved water, “the monitoring [in consultation with watershed
councils] of activities in watersheds that provide water to drinking water
systems to protect the watersheds”; the promotion of “state water planning,
including the formation of the state water plan”; and “water reuse with
appropriate conditions for the region in which the water reuse” as water policy
objectives. The original version of the bill removed the phrase “balanc[ing]
social, economic, public interest, and environmental” from two places in the
statute, but this phrase was reinserted into the first substitute that was
ultimately passed.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 46 – Water Rights Applications Amendments
Rep. Doug Owens
House Bill 46 modifies Utah Code section 73-3-18 regarding
the State Engineer’s process of reinstating lapsed applications. The law previously
allowed the State Engineer to reinstate a lapsed application within 60 days of
the lapsed application upon a showing of reasonable cause but gave no guidance
on how a water right owner was to file this request for reinstatement. HB 46
directs the State Engineer to create a reinstatement form that will be used (in
conjunction with a request for extension of time) for future requests to
reinstate lapsed applications within the 60-day time period. The bill also
provides that if an application is reinstated, the priority date will be
changed to the date that the request for reinstatement was filed.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 47 – Public Lands Water Rights Amendments
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
House Bill 47 modifies Utah Code sections 73-2-14 and
73-3-31 regarding water claims under Public Water Reserve No. 107. In 1926,
President Calvin Coolidge created Public Water Reserve Number 107 through an
executive order. Public Water Reserve No. 107 reserved land containing water
for the federal government to manage livestock watering on these lands. The
rationale behind Public Water Reserve No. 107 was to promote western settlement
and prevent monopolization of scarce water resources on federally managed
lands. Public Water Reserve Number 107 created federal reserved water rights
that are leased by the federal government to private individuals for grazing.
Utah Code sections 73-2-14 and 73-3-31 did not recognize Public Water Reserve
No. 107 separately and instead combined Public Water Reserve No. 107 uses with
livestock water use certificates held by public agencies. HB 47 recognizes that
Public Water Reserve No. 107 uses are unique and establishes a procedure and
guidelines for federal agencies to file information with the Division of Water
Rights so that the State Engineer may determine beneficial use for water claims
under Public Water Reserve No. 107.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 81 (1st Substitute) – Fluoride Amendments
Rep. Stephanie Gricius
House Bill 81 prohibits public water suppliers from adding
fluoride into a public water system.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 89 (1st Substitute) – Water Transfer Amendments
Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion
House Bill 89 modifies Utah Code section 75-3-1201 regarding
“small estate affidavits.” A small estate affidavit is used when a person has
passed away and has personal property (such as furniture, jewelry, money in
bank accounts, shares of stock, etc.) that are still in the deceased person’s
name. The family of the deceased person can fill out the affidavit and then use
the affidavit to have the personal property transferred out of the name of the
deceased person and into the name of the successors/heirs. The affidavit cannot
be used to transfer title to real property and the affidavit can only be used
if the total value of the assets is less than $100,000. In the past, the small
estate affidavit has been used in circumstances where a deceased person owned
shares of stock in an irrigation company and the successors/heirs are seeking
to have the irrigation company re-issue the shares into the name of the
successors/heirs. HB 89 disallows this practice. The bill states that “Shares
of stock in a water company . . . are not eligible for transfer” using the
small estate affidavit. This means that successors/heirs will be forced to go
through the probate process in court in order to get water shares transferred
out of the name of a deceased person.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 174 – Water Rights Restricted Account
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
House Bill 174 modifies Utah Code section 73-2-1.6 regarding
how the Division of Water Rights can utilize funds in the Water Rights
Restricted Account. Previously, the law allowed the Division to use funds for
legal support related to water right adjudications. HB 174 allows the Division
to use funds for general legal support (i.e., “not limited to geographic areas
of adjudication”).
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 243 – Agriculture Water Optimization Amendments
Rep. Casey Snider
House Bill 243 amends two code sections in the Agricultural
Water Optimization Act. The law previously required a 25% match for “a drip or
automated surge irrigation project.” This language is amended to clarify that
the match is for “(A) a subsurface drip irrigation project; (B) an automated
surge irrigation project; or (C) a measurement, telemetry, or reporting
project.” The bill also adds a provision that money in the Agricultural Water
Optimization Account can be used for research that “establishes methods for
measuring saved water or the effectiveness of the agricultural water
optimization funding.”
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 274 (5th Substitute) - Water Amendments
Rep. Casey Snider
The Legislature passed House Bill 274 in the final hours of
the 2025 legislative session. The bill will authorize culinary water suppliers
to enact tiered “conservation” rates to help implement water conservation
efforts “designed to incentivize, encourage, or result in reduced water usage
or more efficient use of water.” Such rates would be presumed to be reasonable
and to reflect a water provider’s actual costs. By July 1, 2027, retail water
suppliers (i.e., culinary water suppliers with over 500 service connections)
would be required to “consider at least one conservation effort” in setting
their highest block unit of water for residential customers.
The bill also includes several provisions regarding
secondary water suppliers. Among other things, it would require secondary water
suppliers to begin billing end users using a tiered conservation rate that
considers revenue stability, water conservation, and cost of service,
“regardless of whether the secondary water supplies is fully metered or has
modified existing contracts with end users.” Similarly, all contracts between
an end user and a secondary water supplier executed or renewed after July 1, 2025,
would be required to allow for billing by tiered conservation rates. By April
30, 2030, secondary water suppliers must begin providing an “educational
component for end users” as determined by the Division of Water Resources.
Notwithstanding these provisions, the Legislature approved a
substituted from Senator Kevin Stratton that, starting on July 1, 2030, will
require secondary water suppliers to “charge an end user at the lowest rate of
the tiered conservation rate if the end user is using a portion of the water to
grow food, including growing a garden, fruit trees, or pasture for grazing.”
This language will likely be revised prior to 2030.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 285 (1st Substitute) - Water Infrastructure Amendments
Rep. Casey Snider
House Bill 285 is the next step forward for Rep. Snider’s HB
280, passed in 2024, which is intended to centralize water infrastructure
funding in the state. The bill repeals the Water Resources Cities Water Loan
Fund, redirecting payments for those loans into the Water Infrastructure Fund
created by HB 280. It also allows the Water Infrastructure Fund to transfer
money to and receive money from the Water Resources Conservation and
Development Fund overseen by the Board of Water Resources, the Water Quality Security
– Utah Wastewater Loan Program Subaccount overseen by the Water Quality Board,
and the Drinking Water Security – Drinking Water Loan Program Subaccount
overseen by the Drinking Water Board. Starting with Fiscal Year 2027, the
respective boards will examine their respective funds to determine how much
money should be transferred to the Water Infrastructure Fund. The amount to be
transferred will be quantified by examining the amount of money needed to fund
loans authorized by each board in the previous year. The bill also requires
public water systems wishing to receive state or federal financing or grants to
adopt capital asset management plans by July 1, 2028.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 311 (3rd Substitute) - Watershed Amendments
Rep. Casey Snider
While House Bill 311 started as an effort to regulate
hydropower facilities, the first substitute replaced all of the contents of the
bill and changed its focus to the Utah water agent, a position that was created
in 2024’s SB 211. The bill changes the focus of the water agent from water
importation to water augmentation projects, and allows the water agent to
pursue such projects in the Bear River and Colorado River Basins (which were
previously off limits). It also clarifies that the Board of Water Resources may
enter into a contract for a water augmentation project recommended by the water
agent.
With time running short at the end of the legislative
session, the third substitute incorporated key language from HB 415, Water
Commissioner Amendments, and HB 507, Legislative Water Development Commission
Amendments, both of which failed to pass. By incorporating the HB 415 elements
into HB 311, water commissioners may be eligible for state health and
retirement benefits if those benefits are approved by the commissioner’s
distribution system committee. The HB 507 language incorporated into HB 311 changes
the number of legislators who are appointed to the Legislative Water
Development Commission.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HB 520 (2nd Substitute) - Water Entity Amendments
Rep. Casey Snider
House Bill 520 (2nd Su made several changes regarding
several government offices and their relationship with the Department of
Natural Resources (“Department”). First, it requires the state water agent to
coordinate with the Department. Second, the bill removes the “independent
entity” status of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner and the Office of the
Commissioner, which will now be housed within the Department of Natural
Resources. Similarly, the bill removes the independent entity status of the
Colorado River Authority of Utah. Under Utah Code 63H-9-101, independent
entities are public entities that are individually created by the state but are
separate and apart from the judicial and legislative branches of state
government and are not under the direct supervisory control of the governor.
The bill also made changes to the laws governing the grant
program that provided $40M to the National Audubon Society and The Nature
Conservancy to establish the private Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement
Trust. Under the bill, the Great Salt Lake Commissioner will serve as a
non-voting member of the Trust’s council of advisors and must consult with the
council and obtain a recommendation from the council before expending “money
for the purpose of acquiring or leasing water or water rights” for Great Salt
Lake.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
HCR 1 – Regarding the Grand County Water Conservancy
District
Rep. Carl R. Albrecht
HCR 1 supports the transfer of water infrastructure from the
United States Department of Energy to the Grand County Water Conservancy
District. The infrastructure is currently used in the Moab Uranium Mill
Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project to remove radioactive uranium mill
tailings from a 130-acre tailings pile adjacent to the Colorado River, just
north of Moab. The tailings are transported by rail to a remote off-river site
near Crescent Junction. These tailings posed a serious threat to the Colorado
River. If not removed, a major flood event would wash the tailings into the
river and create a catastrophe for the millions of people who rely on the
Colorado River below Moab. This federally funded Project, which is nearing
completion, began in 2008 and has already removed 14.4 million tons of
tailings. Once the Project is complete, the water infrastructure will no longer
be needed by the Department of Energy and can be used for the benefit of Grand
County.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 33 – Water Right Recording Amendments
Sen. Evan J. Vickers
Senate Bill 33 revises Utah Code section 57-3-109 regarding
water right deed addenda. The law previously required that the grantor’s
signature on the addendum must be an original signature, whereas the grantee’s
signature could be “by facsimile or electronic means.” SB 33 allows for both
the grantor’s and grantee’s signatures to be “by facsimile or electronic
means.”
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 36 (1st Substitute) – Water Quality Board Amendments
Sen. Todd D. Weiler
Senate Bill 36 revises Utah Code section 19-5-104 to
establish a process for the Utah Quality Board to review penalty negotiations
between the director and a publicly-owned entity in alleged violation of the
Water Quality Act and to recommend a final order establishing a reasonable
penalty following a settlement conference.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
SB 80 (3rd Substitute) - Drinking Water Amendments
Sen. Scott D. Sandall
Senate Bill 80 (3rd Substitute) authorizes and requires the
Department of Environmental Quality to establish an annual fee on the basis of
domestic water consumption that will be assessed against public water systems
to help fund Utah’s Safe Drinking Water program. Under the bill, the Department
will undertake a rulemaking process to establish the fees and will be required
to consider several factors, including but not limited to program costs and the
indirect costs of regulating public water systems in Utah, after consulting
with stakeholders.
To read the full text of the bill, click here.
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