Utah funds agricultural water leases to support the Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake Preservation Board runs the agricultural water leasing program, sets payment rates yearly, and accepts applications and awards leases at least yearly. The program leases agricultural water only to benefit the Great Salt Lake. Participants must hold water rights or have authority to apply for their use in Utah's portion of the lake basin. Participants need board selection and approval of a water-right application. That approval covers only the lease period. Full-season leases on the same field are limited to no more than two years in a five-year period. The board prioritizes older water rights confirmed through court proceedings and considers the five-year average alfalfa hay price when setting rates. Unused program money carries forward rather than expiring at the end of the budget year. The $2.75 million comes from the General Fund, the state's main budget fund, and does not guarantee payments to every applicant. The law took effect May 6, 2026. Funding covers July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The program's legal authority expires July 1, 2030.

Other water users cannot divert or hold back covered leased water before it reaches its approved destination. These rules cover leased water approved under Utah's stream-flow water-use law, from its release or usual diversion point to its approved place of use. Only the state engineer or the engineer's representative may control this water. The engineer may allocate it as naturally flowing water. Dam and barrier owners cannot refuse to release the water and must pass it through at their own expense when directed. The state engineer may manage the water under a written agreement with water users or dam and barrier owners. These rules took effect May 6, 2026.

The state engineer must give priority to processing certain surface-water lease applications. The water must come from a surface source in an established distribution system served by a state-appointed water commissioner. The underlying water right must allow irrigation, industrial, or municipal use. The lease must serve a use allowed under Utah's stream-flow water-use law. Applicants must describe agreement from the applicable state partner and confirm that they meet the eligibility rules. Groundwater leases do not qualify. Applicants sharing agricultural water between uses in one year must identify one period of at least four consecutive weeks within the water right's allowed season. The engineer may adjust priority because of an objection or unusual conditions that make the original priority impractical. These rules took effect May 6, 2026. Applicants must file by December 1 for leases intended to start on or after April 1 of the following year.

The board may require lease recipients to repay money if they break lease conditions or divert water against the lease terms. Repayment rules apply to people awarded leases through the Great Salt Lake Preservation Program. The board must give notice of the violation and repayment amount. Enforcement is exempt from Utah's usual process for agency cases. The board may adopt enforcement rules that must allow a hearing on request. Other people cannot join the enforcement case. A court may review the final order afresh. If the board wins a review or enforcement case, the state may recover court costs and reasonable lawyer fees. Lease approvals require yearly measurement or monitoring reports. The board must publicly report water delivered, leases awarded, and money spent. These rules took effect May 6, 2026. Court review requests are due within 20 days from service of the final order. Board reports are due each November 30 for the previous October–September period; engineer reports on monitoring challenges are due each December 31.