New Policy Regarding Domestic Duty Considerations

On December 28, 2018, the State Engineer issued a new policy regarding the amount of water required for domestic (culinary) use. Historically, the Division of Water Rights has used a "duty" of 0.45 acre-feet per residence per year, which is based on an estimated 400 gallons per day. Recent studies have shown that due to conservation efforts, water efficient appliances, and other considerations, Utah households only use about 70 gallons per person per day. Thus, a home with four people will only use about 280 gallons per day, or 0.314 acre-feet per year.

The State Engineer notes that 0.45 acre-feet per residential connection is still a safe number to use, and it is the number that the Division will continue to use for domestic use if there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. However, the Division "will consider reduced amounts of water required per connection in applications filed if the projected usage rate numbers are based on scientific evaluations and the water used is measured and reported to the Division of Water Rights through the Water Use Program." The policy does not provide additional explanation regarding what evidence and "scientific evaluations" will be sufficient to convince the Division to depart from the standard requirement of 0.45 acre-feet per residential connection.

The policy also notes that part-time residences (such as cabins) may only require 0.16 acre-feet per year or less, which is a decrease from the current requirement of 0.25 acre-feet per year. The same considerations outlined above would apply in getting the Division to approve part-time residences with a diversion limit of less than 0.25 acre-feet per connection.

To read the full policy, click here.