July 2020 Newsletter

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

BY: Gene Shawcroft

Dear Friends,
What happened to the precipitation this spring? About the time we became completely overwhelmed with the details of COVID-19 and were figuring out how we’d operate under new pandemic guidelines of social distancing, self-isolation, and quarantines, the clouds were ahead of us in all these new guidelines. They simply disappeared, nowhere to be seen! There was little to no precipitation all spring, in some places the driest spring on record. What appeared to be at least a normal runoff turned into a less than 50% runoff in many basins. In some cases, water released from storage in February and March to prepare for an above normal runoff, simply could not be made up as the snowpack melted early and there was no help from the clouds. However, with very expert operations many of our reservoirs did indeed fill. What would we do without storage!

As I think about the storage available, it is hard not to reflect upon the sacrifice of those who have gone before us to provide these great benefits. We recently celebrated the birth of our great nation and the many men and women who paid the ultimate price of their lives for our collective benefit and freedom. I am convinced that many of our forefathers were as committed to preparing their respective communities for the future as they were to prepare the nation for its future. On a community basis this included a future water supply. It was well understood that if a community did not have a good water supply it did not have a good future. We enjoy a vibrant economy and great quality of life as a result of their forethought and sacrifice.

It is now our responsibility to continue the culture of preparing for the future. Every tool in our toolbox will be needed. Efficient use of our water will play a key role. Development of new surface sources will be needed. Ground water use will be maximized and managed stretching the safe yield. Additional cooperation with land use planners and those with authority to set land use policy will be necessary. And some tweaks to state water law will be necessary to accomplish all the above. There will be future tools yet to be determined that cannot be discounted either.

I am grateful to be among you in the water community that will make this a reality. We will have a great supply of water for our future because of your great collective efforts.

Let it rain (no lightning please)!
Gene

WATER & THE LAW

Salt Lake City v. Haik (2020)
By Jeffry R. Gittins

The Utah Supreme Court recently issued its latest decision in the long-running dispute between Salt Lake City and Mark Haik regarding access to water service in Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon. However, the main party of interest in this case is not Mr. Haik, but is an adjacent property owner, the Pearl Raty Trust.

For years, Mark Haik, the Pearl Raty Trust, and others have sought to get water service from Salt Lake City so they can develop their lots in the Albion Basin. In 2014, Salt Lake City brought a water right quiet title action against Mr. Haik and the Raty Trust, who responded with various counterclaims. One counterclaim asserted that Salt Lake City was required to provide water service to the lots under Article XI, Section 6 of the Utah Constitution. Mr. Haik’s counterclaim was dismissed based on res judicata because he had already litigated (and lost) the same claim in federal court, but the Raty Trust was allowed to pursue its counterclaim. The Raty Trust asserted that although the Albion Basin is not within Salt Lake City’s municipal boundaries, it is within the City’s approved water service area, and that the City was, therefore, obligated to serve water to the Trust’s lot. The district court disagreed and dismissed the Trust’s counterclaim. The case was appealed to the Utah Court of Appeals, which affirmed the district court. The Trust then appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.

The Utah Supreme Court began its analysis by reviewing the language of Article XI, Section 6, which provides that all of the “waterworks, water rights and sources of water supply now owned or hereafter to be acquired by any municipal corporation, shall be preserved, maintained and operated by it for supplying its inhabitants with water at reasonable charges.” The Trust asserted that because its property was within the City’s water service area, the Trust was an “inhabitant” of the City and that the City was, therefore, constitutionally required to provide water service to the Trust’s property. The Court disagreed and determined that the Trust did not meet the plain-language definition of an “inhabitant” of Salt Lake City. Further, the Court held that it was not persuaded that those who ratified the Utah Constitution understood the word “inhabitant” to encompass any person who owned property within a city’s approved water service area. The Court therefore affirmed the dismissal of the Trust’s counterclaim.

A copy of the full opinion may be found at the author’s water law blog (http://utahwaterrights.blogspot.com; see entry for June 3, 2020, “Salt Lake City v. Haik”) and the author may be contacted at 801-413-1600.

WATER OUTLOOK

By Jordan Clayton

Utah’s SNOTEL sites, which provide hydroclimatic conditions for our mountain locations, have received below normal precipitation this water year. As of late June, the water-year-to-date (October through June) precipitation is 86% of average. There are now just under 100 days to go until the end of the water year, so chances are increasingly likely that Utah will wind up with below average overall precipitation totals, though some uncertainty remains due to potential contributions from the summer monsoon.

The winter snowpack has now completely melted out. At its peak (roughly April 1st), this year’s snowpack was slightly above average, but warm, dry conditions during April and May caused the snowpack to deteriorate more rapidly than normal at Utah’s SNOTEL sites, and forced below to well-below average April-July predicted runoff for Utah’s water supply forecasts. Keep fingers crossed for a better snow accumulation and runoff season next year! Currently, the statewide mountain soil moisture is close to normal for this time of year for deep portions of the soil column, with some basins (Jordan, Lower Green) slightly above 100% and others (SE Utah watersheds) below 90%. Utah’s reservoirs remain in fairly good condition: statewide reservoir storage was at 89% of capacity as of June 1st (revised percent normal values will be available after July 1). Most of Utah’s reservoirs have already received the bulk of the annual snowmelt runoff and are not expected to replenish beyond current levels until next year’s runoff season.

Utah’s SCAN sites provide information about climatic conditions for our valley locations. June precipitation at Utah’s SCAN sites has varied regionally: whereas southern Utah valley locations have received less than 0.5” (with many less than 0.1”), northern Utah SCAN sites have all accumulated more than 1” of rainfall during the month (with a couple sites in far northern Utah over 2”). Soils are particularly dry in western Utah, above average in far northern Utah, and closer to average in other parts of the state. The U.S. Drought Monitor now depicts much of eastern Juab County as D3 (extreme) drought, with a large swatch of D2 (severe) drought in west central and southeastern Utah, D1 (moderate) drought over most of the rest of the state, and D0 (abnormally dry) to normal conditions in southwestern and northeastern Utah. The percentage of Utah under any drought condition (D0-D4) has increased to about 96% of the state, which is up from roughly 82% a few months ago and 54% in October. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts that precipitation and temperatures in Utah will be below and above average, respectively, and that drought conditions will persist for the rest of the water year; water conservation will therefore be advisable for many areas in Utah moving forward.

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR’S CORNER

By Carly Burton

UTAH WATER USERS WORKSHOP

Well, as I am sure you probably know by now, the 2020 Workshop has been postponed until March 15-17, 2021 due to the Corona Virus. I am very grateful to all of you who were planning on attending to allow your registration, vendor or co-sponsor fee to be held over until next year. Through your patience, we were able to plan for a smooth transition until next year. Currently the virus seems to be getting worse so who knows what will happen going into next year. Lets just hope that the virus goes away or a vaccine is developed by then.

UTAH WATER SUMMIT

Now for the next challenging event. The Utah Water Summit Conference is still scheduled for October 13 at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. This year’s theme will be “Managing Water Supplies During Crisis Events in Utah and Nationally” which seems to be an appropriate theme under current circumstances. We will hear from local water districts, the Bureau of Reclamation and other water interests who are trying to deal with providing water to the citizens of Utah. As the virus seems to be getting worse I am starting to get a little nervous that we will not be able to pull this event off. We are working closely with the Convention Center to be in the best position for a go or no go event. We will post any updates on our website which is www.utahwaterusers.com. Be sure to check in the weeks ahead to get the status of this event.

USDA SURVEY OF IRRIGATION ORGANIZATIONS

Irrigation agencies, organizations and contractors are encouraged to complete their Survey of Irrigation Organizations. There is still time to complete the questionnaire by mail or online at agcounts.usda.gov. Survey response is vital to help the agriculture industry and policymakers better understand water usage in agriculture. For questions or assistance, please call toll-free 1-888-424-7828. For more information, please visit nass.usda.gov/go/irrorgs.

There is only one month left to take the USDA Survey of Irrigation Organizations. If you’d like to take the survey click this link:nass.usda.gov/go/irrorgs