Drought

Salt Lake City’s municipal golf courses are on track to generate $2.2 million more in revenue this year. The surge in Utah golf rounds will help fund upgrades with less taxpayer support.

A strong monsoon season would be a big relief after Utah’s dry winter and spring. And the ingredients are lining up to make summer rains happen — just not anytime soon.

The declaration isn’t a surprise. Utah’s water outlook has been deteriorating for months following the state’s warmest fall and winter on record.

Lake Powell’s dire water level forecast is prompting an unprecedented move: transporting a massive marina to deeper waters. It’s another example of how the West’s historically dry, warm year is straining the Colorado River.

Local fishermen are “going to want to get out now, especially if they have a boat,” says the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The bad snowpack and drought are likely to take their toll.

The three Western states say their proposal would save 3.2 million acre-feet of water through 2028. That’s enough water to serve more than 25 million people a year.

With the worsening drought, the Colorado River is already at a “worst-case scenario,” and Gov. Spencer Cox thinks that may force states to find common ground.

After one of the West's worst snow years on record, communities must live with less water. Around this time of year, home gardeners are starting to grow their own produce as utilities enact outdoor watering restrictions.

The Colorado River states are stuck in negotiations about sharing the river's water. Utah and its neighbors have proposed breaking the standstill with a mediator.

Lake Powell is at just 23% capacity and approaching the point where water won't be able to flow into its hydroelectric turbines without air causing damage.

Despite this week’s rain and cold front, drought continues to hold Utah in its grip. That has water districts considering mandatory reductions this summer.

The water supply for the Bryce Canyon National Park area comes from an underground aquifer. Scientists and residents worry that more tourism development there might strain those limited reserves.