2026 Legislation - Water Bills That Did Not Pass

HB 494 (1st Substitute) – Transfer of Water Interests
(Rep. Doug Owens)

House Bill 494 sought to clarify the relationship of water shares (not water rights) in land conveyances. This bill would have codified that a water share is appurtenant only when an irrigation company’s bylaws or articles of incorporation designate the specific unit of land or location of land where the company delivers the water represented by the shares. This bill would have made amendments to Utah Code sections 16-6a-606, 73-1-10, and 73-1-11. Additionally, this bill would have codified that if a water share is transferred and there are unpaid assessments, the party receiving the water share would be obligated to pay those assessments. While this bill did not pass this session, legislation to clarify the appurtenancy of water shares will likely reappear in the 2027 Legislative Session. 

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 501 (2nd Substitute) – Water Modifications
(Rep. Bridger Bolinder)

House Bill 501 sought to add provisions intended to promote more efficient water use and conservation, particularly for secondary water systems. It recognized that many existing secondary water delivery contracts predate modern conservation requirements and therefore may not allow water metering or billing based on actual water use. To address this, the bill would have allowed and encouraged secondary water suppliers to modify older contracts so that customers could be metered and billed based on the amount of water they actually use, using tiered pricing that increases as usage increases. These contract changes would also require property owners to comply with delivery obligations and ensure that future buyers of the property enter into similar agreements. To help suppliers track ownership changes and enforce these agreements, county recorders would have been required to provide periodic reports identifying property transfers within the supplier’s service area.

The bill also sought to create a new “local investment requirement” for public water systems and wastewater providers that want to receive state funding for water infrastructure projects beginning in 2027. The intent of the requirement was to ensure that local communities are contributing a reasonable share of the cost of their own water systems before receiving state money. The local investment requirement would have been calculated for each funding recipient as 1.5% of the median income in the service area (3% if the recipient was a municipality providing both water and sewer service) multiplied by number of system connections. The funds could be collected through water or sewer rates, taxes, impact fees, or other local revenue sources. Systems could still structure rates in ways that account for affordability, conservation, and fairness among customers. Smaller systems serving fewer than 3,300 people would have been exempt if meeting the requirement would create an undue hardship.

The bill nearly made it to the Senate floor for a vote in the waning hours of the session but is likely to resurface in the 2027 Session.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.

HB 533 (2nd Substitute) – Groundwater Amendments
(Rep. Mike Kohler)

House Bill 533 sought to require any land use authority to consider groundwater preservation when approving a land use change from agricultural use to another use. This bill would have created two new sections in Utah Code: section 10-20-625 and section 17-79-621. As written, this bill required a land use authority to consider hydrological data when a landowner sought to change land use from agricultural to another use. This bill additionally stated that a land use authority could require the Utah Geological Survey or an irrigation company to provide information regarding the hydrology for its review of the land use application. However, because of mandated timelines for land use applications, it would have been difficult to get the necessary information regarding groundwater.

To read the full text of the bill, click here.