Deseret News – The muddy marshes and tall grasses stretch on nearly as far as the eye can see, with the wind-swept terrain, bugs and birds occupying thousands of acres. Paul Etcheverry shakes his head. “To get out there, it’s wicked. You don’t know what’s out there. It’s like Vietnam.”
Deseret News – If Utah’s snowpack was a homework assignment, it would be covered in red marks and rejected.
Salt Lake Tribune – One of the most important reservoirs in the southwestern U.S. will likely collect less than half its normal amount of spring runoff this year because of a warm, dry winter across much of the region, forecasters said.
Deseret News – Guesswork in how much secondary water is being used and system loss from “well to tap” are significant challenges Utah’s water managers need to address to get a better idea of both the state’s consumption and projected need for water.
Deseret News – Two legislative proposals seek to upend current water law and policy by demanding greater accountability for public water systems and reigning in their regulatory authority over watersheds.
Deseret News – “Data accuracy issues seem to be on the decline because of efforts by state water agencies, the Legislature and local water systems to improve data collection,” the audit said. “However, some water systems continue to have difficulty reporting accurate water-use data.”
Deseret News – The state Water Development Commission voted Tuesday to do a deep dive on surplus water contracts and municipal control of land use outside city boundaries, signaling state law may need to change.
Deseret News – The Bear River Compact, approved in 1958 and up for mandated 20-year review this fall, has enjoyed decades of minimal controversy.
Deseret News – Two local engineering firms are conducting a study of Utah’s water use data collection system, a data-driven system vulnerable to errors, assumptions, and calculations because of the complexity inherent to harnessing information from 475 community water systems across the state.
Deseret News – Emeritus BYU professor and Utah Lake expert LeVere Merritt implored lawmakers to halt wastewater treatment plant upgrades to tackle nutrient pollution, a proposal he says has no scientific basis and will have little effect on the lake’s water quality.
Deseret News – One of northern Utah’s most critical rivers is getting a targeted boost to its health in a multimillion-dollar effort to reduce phosphorus, a naturally occurring nutrient that threatens its water quality.
Deseret News – Researchers at Brigham Young University will return to Utah Lake Wednesday to take additional water samples to determine the concentration of toxins produced by blue-green algae.
Deseret News – On Wednesday the public had a chance to weigh in on a 197-page draft water strategy from the Governor’s Water Strategy Advisory Team. It alternately drew praise and criticism.
The newly released Recommended State Water Strategy is open for public comment through June 26 before it goes to the governor’s desk.
Deseret News – While the lower- and mid-elevation snow has melted, the high mountain snowpack has yet to come down — and everyone is holding their breath that it behaves and melts in an orderly fashion.
