Utah is now under a state of emergency, and Gov. Spencer Cox didn’t mince words about why.
“The numbers are clear: Utah is in one of its worst droughts in history,” Cox said during his emergency declaration announcement. “We know that conservation and long-term water resilience are the only path forward.”
The declaration doesn’t come as a surprise. Utah’s water outlook has been deteriorating for months following the state’s warmest fall and winter on record.
Nearly all of Utah’s water supply comes from snow, and this winter’s Western snow drought brought Utah its lowest recorded snowpack since at least 1930. The spring heat wave melted what little snow Utah had weeks earlier than normal.
“We can’t bank on what Mother Nature might deliver next winter, and so we have to be even more cautious, just in case this is more than a one-year event,” he said. “Precipitation isn’t promised, and conservation is a choice that we can all make.”
The state of emergency activates Utah’s response plan, and now a committee will look into the drought and recommend action. It also raises awareness about the dire need to conserve water, the governor said.
Every inch of the state has been in drought since March, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The latest report shows more than three-fifths of Utah’s landscape — from Tooele to Vernal to Blanding — is now in extreme or exceptional drought.
Utahns are already feeling the impacts. Some of the state’s water districts are starting to roll out mandatory cuts. Lake Powell’s water levels are declining so much that a massive marina has to move. The state has even loosened fishing rules at some shrinking lakes.
Statewide, reservoirs — excluding Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge — are around 70% full. That’s 15 percentage points less than this time last year.
“We are now relying heavily on reservoir storage,” Cox said. “But those reserves are being drawn down faster than we’d like. I urge every Utahn to treat water as the precious resource it is.”
One of the best ways for residents to help, he said, is to avoid overwatering outdoors by inspecting sprinklers and following Utah’s weekly watering guide. The state has been working to increase communities’ water conservation for years, and it has caught on in some places more than others.
He also touted other ongoing efforts, such as the $276 million program to increase farm irrigation efficiency and the push to install meters on secondary water systems. Utah’s grass replacement rebate program has also helped residents ditch roughly 3 million square feet of irrigated lawn so far.
But concerns about Utah’s water future remain.
Utah and the six other Colorado River Basin states are still deadlocked over how to share the river’s dwindling water supply. There has also been widespread pushback over water use at proposed data centers in Utah, like the one in Box Elder County. And the weather is unlikely to lend a hand anytime soon.
Above-average temperatures will likely continue across Utah through the summer, according to the latest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast. The expected El Niño weather pattern could push global temperatures toward record warm territory throughout 2026.
“We can't control the weather, but we can control the taps,” Cox said. “Let's make 2026 the year we prove once again Utah's resilience is deeper than any drought.”
