July 2025 Newsletter

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

By: Paul Monroe

As summer kicks in, Utah’s feeling the heat-literally and figuratively. Around 85% of the state is dealing with moderate to severe drought, and up north, the soil and streams are starting to look like the those in the south which are more relatable to the Utah Jazz winning percentage. Reservoirs have already hit their peak for the year, and with triple-digit temps in some spots, water demand is shooting up. It’s not just about staying cool—these dry conditions are fueling wildfire risks too. A few fires have already popped up, and last Sunday in Cedar City, we watched the sun set behind a haze of smoke while ash from the Forsyth Fire floated down like snow. Kind of beautiful, kind of unsettling.

It’s a strong reminder that even after a decent snowpack (in the North), things can turn dry fast. With wind, heat, and more people using more water, we’re all being encouraged to conserve and manage wisely. The fire danger isn’t going anywhere soon, so it’s a good time to be extra careful outside—no sparks, no flames, no fireworks.

Still, there’s a little hope on the horizon. Southern Utah got an early taste of monsoon rains in June, and if things go our way, July could bring more of that much-needed moisture. It could really help settle the dust, bring life back to the soil, and cool down fire threats. But with the unpredictable weather, we’ll have to wait and see. For now, we’re keeping an eye on the sky, saving every drop we can, and crossing our fingers that those summer storms roll in soon.

WATER AND THE LAW

By Jeffry R. Gittins, Smith Hartvigsen

UPDATE ON WATER RIGHT ADJUDICATIONS

Across the state, water right adjudications continue to move forward. As noted by the Utah Division of Water Rights, “[t]he water rights adjudication process helps to bring order and certainty to the water rights record throughout the state by defining existing rights, quantifying unknown rights, and removing unused and abandoned rights from the record through judicial decree.” This article provides updates on some of these water right adjudication proceedings.

The Division published three Proposed Determinations in 2024:
” Navajo Nation, Area 09-1
” Provo City North, Area 55-7
” Little Cottonwood Creek, Area 57-23

The Division anticipates publishing more Proposed Determinations in 2025. The next Proposed Determinations to be published are:
” Orem, Area 55-3
” Lehi, Area 55-4
” American Fork South, Area 55-5
” Provo Canyon, Area 55-9
” Midway, Area 55-10

The Division recently created four new adjudication areas in southern Utah County:
” Santaquin, Area 51-6
” Benjamin, Area 51-7
” Spanish Fork / Mapleton, Area 51-8
” Payson / Salem, Area 51-9

In the Benjamin area (51-7), the Division mailed Notices to File Claims on May 22, 2025, which means that Water User’s Claims must be filed by August 20, 2025. The Division will hold an initial public meeting for the Spanish Fork / Mapleton area on June 10, 2025. Notices to File Claims will be mailed out shortly thereafter.

The adjudications for Santaquin (51-6) and Payson / Salem (51-9) will most likely be initiated in 2026.

The Division also initiated the general adjudication process in the Gould Wash area (Area 81-4) in the Virgin River drainage. The Division mailed Notices to File Claims on May 15, 2025, which means that Water User’s Claims must be filed by August 13, 2025.

It is critical that water right owners understand and participate in the adjudication process in their respective areas. Failure to do so could result in water rights being reduced or even disallowed in the adjudication proceedings.

WEATHER OUTLOOK

By Glen Merrill

The transition from the cool season to the warm season was quite sharp this water year of 2025 as seasonally above normal temperatures (top 33rd percentile) combined with a see-saw of precipitation anomalies from what was experienced in months previous. Regarding the latter, the northern half of the state experienced below (to much below) precipitation during the April-June period, while portions of the southern half of the state finally saw the above normal precipitation that was needed. Said, the above normal precipitation experienced was just too late to aid in much of a tangible way however. Drought conditions continued to expand across the region in large, with areal coverage now expanding to 91% if the state in moderate drought (or worse), and 43% now categorized in severe drought status. Corresponding numbers from the beginning of the water year are 9%, and 0% respectively. That’s telling. These drought numbers are more relatable to the southern portions that experienced near to record low snowpack, but degradation has also occurred in areas further north at a steady pace, areas where precipitation was closer to a seasonal norm this past winter. Several factors have played into this, the extremely hot and dry Sep-Oct of last year, mid-winter warmups affecting snowpack densities, early runoff, etc. The latest Colorado Basin River Forecast Center’s seasonal water supply forecast are below normal, to much below normal for all watersheds across the state. Cumulative streamflow data from the USGS indicate bottom 10th percentile streamflow conditions. So, what’s to come?

Climatologically we are now entering into the monsoonal season. Modest surges of mid and upper-level moisture are expected heading into early July, but the pattern is just not setting up for much more than that, in the near term, at the time of this writing. CPC’s monthly outlook for July has backed off a bit on how robust the North American Monsoonal development will be in July…namely, no areas “above normal” for precipitation across the desert southwest. Similar for the July-September period. High probability “bulls-eyes” are noted for above normal temperatures across the state during the summer months. Bottom line…leaning heavily “hot”, and tipping “dry” vs. historical norms.

WATER OUTLOOK

By Jordan Clayton (NARCS)

During the month of June, Utah’s mountains received almost no rain. In fact, the statewide precipitation index that combines data from 115 SNOTEL sites in the state increased only 0.3 inches over those 30 days. As of July 1st the statewide water-year-to-date precipitation in Utah’s mountains was 85% of normal but at about the 20th percentile of observations. At the basin level, as of July all of Utah’s major watersheds had received between 80% and 90% of average precipitation with the exception of the Upper Sevier (77%), and the Southeastern Utah, Southwestern Utah, and Escalante-Paria regions (all below 70%). The story reverses when considering just June precipitation totals: the only regions in the state that received more than 50% of average rainfall were the southern areas just mentioned (from a few storms that hit southern Utah); elsewhere rainfall was quite sparse—particularly for the Bear, Weber-Ogden, Provo-Utah Lake-Jordan, Tooele Valley-Vernon Creek, and San Pitch watersheds which all received less than 10% of normal June rainfall. With the arrival of July comes the hope of the summer monsoon, and we’ve got fingers crossed for a robust delivery of much-needed moisture.

As of July 1st, statewide mountain soil moisture was 79% of normal (20th percentile). As noted in our Water Supply Outlook Reports this spring, snowmelt occurred a bit earlier than normal in Utah’s mountains leading to a forward shift in the timing of soil wetting and drying. As such, soil moisture levels in our mountain areas have been drier than normal since late May and moisture conditions have deteriorated more than expected due to the lack of June precipitation. Some of the driest soils relative to normal are in the upper elevations of the Wasatch Front in both Salt Lake and Utah counties. Other particularly parched areas include the Eastern Uintas and Moab region. In addition to water supply impacts, our dry mountain soils increase the probability of fires, which have flared up in several areas already.

Utah’s reservoir storage continues to be in decent shape overall but has slipped below normal for this time of year. While basins in northern Utah have retained normal or above normal storage, central and southern Utah areas have become more depleted, with the San Pitch, Upper Sevier, and Beaver basins at 54%, 62%, and 63% of average storage for the end of June, respectively. Water Availability Indices (WAIs) for Utah basins combine current reservoir conditions with observed monthly streamflow for each region. July 1 WAIs are far below normal (less than 15th percentile) for the Eastern Uinta and Smiths Fork areas, and below the 25th percentile for the Western Uinta, Moab, Sevier, and Beaver regions. The only areas of the state with slightly above normal Water Availability Indices for this time of year are the Bear, Price, Joe’s Valley, and Ferron Creek watersheds.

RESERVOIR CONDITIONS

By Gary Henrie (USBR)

As we wrap up the 2025 runoff season, the impacts of our poor winter snowpack and low spring runoff are showing up in the storage levels of our 22 federal storage reservoirs in Utah.

Due in large part to the excellent carryover storage from last year, 14 of the 22 reservoirs-including Rockport, Echo, East Canyon, Pineview, Jordanelle, Deer Creek, and Starvation-were able to physically reach full in May and June. There’s the highlight. Unfortunately, the poor spring runoff led to all reservoirs peaking and beginning to recede earlier than normal. The past couple of flush water years kept roughly two-thirds of our reservoirs at above to well above median storage levels right up until this Spring. But, as of July 1, only 3 of the 22 reservoirs (Strawberry, Jordanelle, and Scofield) are above median. Many of the reservoirs are only slightly below median, but the widespread high reservoir storage we’ve seen since spring 2023 has certainly come to an end. As a whole, the combined July 1 storage of the 22 reservoirs (excluding Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell) is at 87% full this year which is 8 percentage points lower than 2023 (95% full), and 11 percentage points lower than last year (98% full). Strawberry, with its large capacity and high storage, is almost singlehandedly holding our combined storage 3 percentage points higher than the median for the past 23 years (84% full). (Strawberry is 93% full which is 9 percentage points above its 23-year July 1 median of 84% full.)

While our reservoir storage levels are already showing much of the impact of this year’s poor runoff, the full impact of the runoff (coupled with the hot, dry summer we are having) will likely continue to be felt in the form of lower reservoir inflows thru winter and into next spring likely leading to our storage decreasing even lower as compared to normal. We’ll have to wait to see how low we end the water year. Let’s hope for a better 2026.

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTORS CORNER

By Carly Burton

UTAH WATER SUMMIT

The Utah Water Summit Conference is quickly approaching and is scheduled for September 22 at the Davis Convention Center. This year’s theme is “Our Very Existence Depends on Water”. We have another great program on important topics including Terminal Lakes in the West, Colorado River, State of Utah Agencies, Forest health Programs, Using Rate Structures to Drive Water Conservation, Impacts of Climate Change on Water Supply and Unified Water Infrastructure Plan. Details on the final program and registration information will be available shortly on our website. We hope to see you there.

NWRA

I am very excited to inform you that the Western Water Seminar for NWRA will be held in Park City on July 29-31. We have a great program confirmed with speakers including the Mayor of Park City, Congressional Representatives Maloy and Kennedy and Natural Resources Director Joel Ferry. You can get detailed information at www.nwra@nwra.org.

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST MEMBER

This July 4th weekend is the perfect time to introduce the newest member of the Association. The company is “3 Alarm Off Road Tours” and is located in Moab, Utah. The owner, Jason Smith, is a Navy veteran and former firefighter and paramedic and has started an off road touring business in some of the most spectacular and breathtaking scenery in Utah. He has considerable experience in off road touring and his clients have expressed that his tours provided one of the most exciting experiences of their lives. For more information Jason can be reached at 801-381-4186. His e-mail is 3alarmoffroad@gmail.com and his website is www.3alarmoffroadtours.com. His mailing address is PO Box 354 Moab, Utah 84512.