Water conservation was a big topic in the legislature: here’s three big bills that passed

SALT LAKE CITY— After a year of historic drought for the State of Utah, legislators passed several bills around water conservation; here’s three big ones.

HB 121 is the first of its kind, offering a $5 million incentive for those that replace their lawn or turf with drought-tolerant vegetation that requires little to no water at all according to the bill.

Exclusions to this incentive include golf courses, athletic fields, parks, or sod farms. The bill also requires the Legislative Water Development Commission to study water conservation in the state and imposes water conservation requirements at state government facilities.

HB 242, covers secondary water metering which will require water suppliers to meter new and existing pressurized secondary water connections and imposes penalties for those who fail to comply with metering requirements.

Previously, Utah had many unmetered secondary water systems which provide untreated irrigation water for outdoor water use and users of these systems paid a flat monthly or annual fee regardless of the amount of water they’re using. This bill means people would be charged according to their water use and penalized for not following metering requirements.

The bill also provides $200 million in grants to fund metering of specific pressurized secondary water services.

SB 110 requires a water use and preservation element to be part of a municipal or county general plan with some exceptions. This bill targets long term water use and water supply essential for growing communities in increasing drought.

The three bills were passed in the legislature and senate in the 2022 session.