73-10g-402. Development of an integrated water assessment.
| (1) |
The division shall develop and implement an integrated surface and ground water assessment for the Great Salt Lake watershed. |
Terms Used In Utah Code 73-10g-402
- Great Salt Lake watershed: means the area comprised of the Great Salt Lake, the Bear River watershed, the Jordan River watershed, the Utah Lake watershed, the Weber River watershed, and the West Desert watershed. See Utah Code 73-10g-401
- Integrated water assessment: means an integrated surface and ground water assessment for the Great Salt Lake watershed developed under Section 73-10g-402. See Utah Code 73-10g-401
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Work plan: means the plan developed under Section 73-10g-403 to develop and implement an integrated water assessment. See Utah Code 73-10g-401
| (2) |
The integrated water assessment may in relationship with the Great Salt Lake watershed:
| (a) |
provide an assessment of the amounts and quality of available water resources; |
| (b) |
assess and forecast the quantity of water available for human, agricultural, economic development, and environmental or instream uses, and ecological needs, including:
| (i) |
current and future water supply and demand and the factors that influence availability; |
| (ii) |
long-term trends in water availability and the causes of those trends; and |
| (iii) |
seasonal and decadal forecasts of availability; |
|
| (c) |
investigate the potential benefits of forest management and watershed restoration in:
| (i) |
improving snowpack retention; |
| (ii) |
increasing soil moisture; |
| (iii) |
sustaining river flows in low flow seasons; |
| (iv) |
mitigating wildfire risk; and |
| (v) |
improving water quality; |
|
| (d) |
coordinate an effort to:
| (i) |
quantify the amount of water and water quality needed to sustain high priority ecological sites in rivers, riparian, wetland, and lake systems; and |
| (ii) |
incorporate the water demand into the water supply and demand model; |
|
| (e) |
identify and evaluate best management practices that may be used to provide a reliable water supply that:
| (i) |
meet water quality objectives; |
| (ii) |
meet agriculture water objectives; |
| (iii) |
accommodate anticipated growth and economic development; and |
| (iv) |
provide adequate flow to sustain the Great Salt Lake, the Great Salt Lake’s wetlands, and other ecological functions in the Great Salt Lake’s watershed; |
|
| (f) |
investigate the potential impacts of water reuse projects on the Great Salt Lake; and |
| (g) |
address other matters identified in the work plan. |
|
| (3) |
The integrated water assessment shall include a water budget for the Great Salt Lake and the Great Salt Lake’s associated wetlands, including water flows needed to maintain different lake levels under different scenarios, taking into consideration water quality, ecological needs, economic benefits, and public health benefits of the Great Salt Lake. |
| (4) |
In developing and implementing the integrated water assessment, the division shall:
| (a) |
consult and coordinate with other state, local, regional, and federal governmental entities, water users, and other stakeholders; and |
| (b) |
coordinate with, and where appropriate, consider or incorporate other planning efforts, assessments, studies, or reports relevant to the Great Salt Lake watershed. |
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Amended by Chapter 176, 2023 General Session
