- Grow the Flow praised funding but criticized missed opportunities in water conservation policies in 2026 legislative session.
- Utah landed nearly $100 million for Great Salt Lake through various bills.
- The session's efforts may not suffice to restore the lake by the 2034 Olympics, organization argues.
Editor's note: This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Great Salt Lake benefited from close to $100 million in new funding during the 2026 legislative session, but a lake-focused conservation group argues that state lawmakers failed to resolve "major policy gaps" this year.
This was a big year for funding and "laying down the groundwork" for future federal assistance that could be "transformational," the nonprofit Grow the Flow wrote in its review of legislative moves tied to the lake, released on Friday. Lawmakers also improved the process of transferring water to the lake, which could send more water to the lake.
However, the group missed chances to take "meaningful steps" in reducing urban and suburban water use, and weakened "public welfare" considerations for the lake, it added. As such, the group believes this year likely won't save the lake.
"This was one of the most productive legislative sessions for Great Salt Lake in recent years. But the progress seen this session still does not put the state on track to fulfill the governor and legislative leadership's recent commitment to return the lake to healthy levels by the 2034 Winter Olympics," said Jake Dreyfous, managing director of Grow the Flow, in a statement.
The biggest financial move seemingly came on the final day of the session, when lawmakers introduced and passed a resolution to cease a long-standing land dispute over 22,311 acres near the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Utah is agreeing to let the federal government add the land to the refuge to keep it protected in exchange for approximately $60 million toward lake projects.
Lawmakers also passed another resolution recognizing the importance of the lake and the effects of its decline if impacts aren't reversed, acknowledging the situation the lake is in yet again.
The Great Salt Lake's southern arm is approximately 6 feet below its minimum healthy level, and experts aren't sure that it will gain much from this year's snowpack. That could plummet levels near its lowest point on record, likely affecting recreation and its important ecosystem, and creating environmental impacts through more exposed lakebed.
Lawmakers also signed off on the Utah Department of Natural Resources' $30 million purchase of the old US Magnesium plant, collecting more than 144,000 acre-feet of water rights. A few other bills unlocked additional funding for lake projects at a smaller clip, but a bill seeking to transfer $200 million from the state's water infrastructure account for future lake projects was tabled.
Aside from money, the Utah Legislature passed a bill that speeds up the process of transferring water to the lake, and a bill that makes it easier for cities and counties to direct excess water to the lake, which also won praise from Grow the Flow.
However, the group argues that a bill shielding the state from lawsuits in water management decisions also limits the state's ability to consider "public welfare" as it evaluates water rights applications.
Several other bills that could have been beneficial toward water consumption trends didn't pass, it added. These include ones limiting some nonfunctional turf or requiring government properties to adopt water-efficient landscaping within the Great Salt Lake basin.
The Great Salt Lake Strike Team noted in a report released in January that municipal and industrial water use is up throughout the basin. Utah House Majority Leader Casey Snider, R-Paradise, called it the "biggest driver" in the lake's system ahead of the session. But lawmakers didn't pass another bill that would have explored ways to reduce municipal water use within the basin.
Targeting water overconsumption trends, especially in municipal and industrial systems, and additional funding are what Grow the Flow recommends in 2027.
"Urban water use is one of the largest remaining gaps in Utah's strategy to save Great Salt Lake," added Brigham Daniels, professor of law at the University of Utah and co-director of the university's Great Salt Lake Project. "Until we tackle how water is used in our cities and suburbs, it will be extremely difficult to stabilize the lake."
