October 8, 2021

2021 VIRTUAL Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum: Negotiating Resilience

Water banking is increasingly being considered as a framework for solving water supply and distribution problems throughout the West.

On November 3, WestWater Research’s Grant Zimmerman will be moderating and coordinating a panel discussing water banking in Utah at the 2021 VIRTUAL Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum: Negotiating Resilience.

In 2020, the Utah Legislature passed the Utah Water Banking Act to create a water banking framework for Utah. The Act was the result of a collaborative effort from diverse stakeholders across the state interested in utilizing water banking as a vehicle for better managing local water resources.

In an effort to kickstart water banking, a pilot program was set up to design and implement three pilot water banks in the Price River Basin and sub-basins of the Bear and Weber Rivers. These water banks are designed to test the framework of the Act and provide a baseline for the implementation of water banking throughout Utah.

The panel presentation will summarize the Utah Water Banking Act, briefly profile the pilot programs and provide a comparison with water banking efforts in Colorado.

Sign up for the Hutchins Water Center at Colorado Mesa University’s 2021 VIRTUAL Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum here.