2026 | Bills of Interest
Welcome to the 2026 Bills of Interest page.
We carefully monitor every bill affecting our industry, tracking developments and analyzing their potential impact. Here, you will find:
-
A comprehensive list of the bills we are following.
-
Our assessment of each bill’s implications for water and wastewater systems.
-
A color-coded system indicating our stance or level of concern.
Each bill number is clickable, taking you to the Utah State Legislature’s official site to review the full text.
| Bills we support | Bills we are tracking | Bills we oppose |
| Passed | Did Not Pass |
|
Municipal Services Fees and Political Subdivision Lien Amendments |
Rep. P. Cutler |
|
Authorizes municipalities to place a political subdivision lien on property for certain past due services. |
|
RWAU Stance: Support |
|
Status: |
|
Drinking Water Utility Amendments |
Rep. C. Jack |
|
Requires a community water system to complete an emergency response plan and report a security breech to the Utah Cyber Center within two hours of discovery. |
|
RWAU Stance: Support |
|
Status: |
|
Water Rights Amendments |
Rep. D. Shallenberger |
|
Modifies the extent to which the State Engineer may consider a protest; addresses temporary applications; modifies the grounds that the State Engineer may consider in approving or rejecting an application, including what the State Engineer may consider related to public welfare and clarifies who is an aggrieved person for purposes of seeking judicial review. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Drinking Water Restructuring Amendments |
Rep. C. Albrecht |
|
Allows a court to appoint a receiver for a public water system to implement a corrective or remedial action for a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act or compliance order and require a violator to divest ownership of the public water system to ensure long term compliance. |
|
RWAU Stance: Support |
|
Status: |
|
Data Center Water Policy Amendments |
Rep. J. Koford |
|
Directs land use authorities to issue certain notices; requires certain large data centers to communicate with water providers; requires reporting by operators of certain data centers before construction and annually; addresses disclosure of the reported information and provides for enforcement mechanisms. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Water Loss Study Amendments |
Rep. D. Owens |
|
Requires the Division of Water Resources to conduct a study regarding water loss and report the findings of that study. |
|
RWAU Stance: Support |
|
Status: |
|
Water Rate Amendments |
Rep. D. Owens |
|
Provides for increasing block units for residential water use in certain water rate structures and addresses the purpose of increases in rates charged for additional blocks. |
|
RWAU Stance: Oppose |
|
Status: |
|
Water Amendments |
Rep. C. Jack |
|
Exempts from provisions related to abandonment or forfeiture for nonuse certain water rights of a water conservancy district that are related to the lower basin and prohibits certain instream flow change applications related to the lower basin. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Landscaper Certification Amendments |
Rep J. Arthur |
|
Requires that the Division of Professional Licensing define landscape work; requires that the Division specify the licensees that may engage I landscape work and provides continuing education requirements for a licensee that engages in landscape work. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track and Amend |
|
Status: |
|
Water Usage Modifications |
Rep. C. Okerlund |
|
Directs municipalities and counties to take certain actions related to land use regulation including providing notice of the prohibition of overhead irrigation; encourages municipalities and counties to take certain actions related to land use regulation and prohibits an owner of specified land who undertakes new development or redevelopment of specified land from using overhead irrigation under certain circumstances, with exceptions. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Dedicated Water Amendments |
Rep. J. Koford |
|
Addresses provisions applicable to dedicated water applications; prohibits segregation of an underlying water right from dedicated water; addresses process for approval of instream flow and related actions; defines terms; provides for filing and approval of a dedicated water application; addresses lnd in agricultural use; authorizes the state engineer to require certain reporting and addresses lapsing of a dedicated water application. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
State Wide Water Storage |
Rep. W. Brooks |
|
Authorizes the use of the Water Infrastructure Restricted Account for loans related to dams and reservoirs; addresses rulemaking related to the loans; establishes the process for approving projects or proposals and requires reporting. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Water Easement Amendments |
Rep. N. Abbott |
|
|
|
RWAU Stance: Track and Amend |
|
Status: |
|
Landscaping Water Amendments |
Rep. D. Owens |
|
Directs a municipality or county to adopt, maintain and enforce certain water efficient landscaping requirements related to new development; permits a municipality or county to consider regional-based water use efficiency standards and addresses the Division of Water Resources keeping records reporting compliance and providing assistance related to the landscaping requirements. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Water Leasing Amendments |
Rep. Koford |
|
This bill makes appropriations to the Great Salt Lake Preservation Program (program) non-lapsing; addresses diversion or impoundment by an intervening user of leased water; provides for streamlined leasing of certain water; directs the Great Salt Lake commissioner to facilitate leasing of water for the Great Salt Lake; creates the program; defines terms; creates the Great Salt Lake Preservation Board (board); provides for rulemaking by the board; establishes the leasing process; addresses applications related to a lease of water; authorizes the board to take action if a person violates a lease; requires reporting by the board and the state engineer; enacts a sunset date; and makes technical and conforming amendments. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Water Planning Amendments |
Rep. Shallenberger |
|
Provides that the state engineer may grant a non-use application for a qualified entity’s water right; requires counties municipalities and special districts to adopt a written plan for determining the reasonable future water requirement of the public before imposing a water exaction and requires the state engineer to make rules to establish standards for the written plan. |
|
RWAU Stance: |
|
Status: |
|
Water Modifications |
Rep. B. Bolinder |
|
Exempts a fee from certain rate setting requirements for municipalities and public water systems; directs modification of contracts that do not comply with metering and usage based billing requirements; requires certain notices to secondary water suppliers regarding transfer of real property; allows for imposition of penalties; requires the collection of certain local contribution amounts for water infrastructure as a condition of receiving state money; requires local entities to collect certain local contribution amounts for drinking water and wastewater by a date certain; addresses the exemption of secondary water from certain fees and modifies a reporting requirement. |
|
RWAU Stance: Oppose as written |
|
Status: |
|
Geothermal Amendments |
Sen. M. McKell |
|
Modifies provisions related to ownership of geothermal resources or fluids and amends the powers of the Division of Water Rights related to confidentiality of information. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Water Wise Landscaping Amendments |
Sen. K. Stratton |
|
Imposes landscaping requirements related to state government facilities. |
|
RWAU Stance: Support |
|
Status: |
|
Water Project Management Amendments |
Rep. S. Sandall |
|
Creates the Office of Water Management within the Division of Water Resources; establishes the duties of the office; provides for a water manager to administrate the office; establishes the role of the water manager; requires the Division of Water Resources to create a process for a political subdivision, special district or state agency to nominate a water project for management by the office; requires the office to adopt a capital asset management plan and report to two legislative committees on the capital asset management plan no later than January 1, 2030 and every 5 years thereafter. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Rule Making Amendments |
Rep. B. Brammer |
|
Requires an agency to ensure rules involving environmental health and waste management are supported by scientific studies and authorizes the Rules Review and General Oversight Committee to delay the effective date of rules involving environmental health and waste management. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |
|
Water Usage at State Owned Facilities |
Rep. S. Pitcher |
|
Requires a state agency to take certain actions related to irrigation and use of low-water turf and directs the Division of Facilities Construction and Management to audit irrigation systems. |
|
RWAU Stance: Track |
|
Status: |