Cox considers emergency declaration as drought worsens in southern Utah and Lake Powell levels drop

Yahoo

18-04-2025

Boats can be seen at anchor at the Wahweap Marina in Lake Powell near Page, Arizona on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025.
With drought conditions worsening in southern Utah, Gov. Spencer Cox says he's working on issuing an emergency declaration.
Despite northern Utah seeing average snow this year, counties in the south are exceptionally dry. Cox said he's currently working with local officials on the declaration, which could extend to a handful of counties in the southwestern corner of Utah that have seen a meager snowpack this winter.
'We feel really good about where we are,' Cox said about water conditions on Thursday during his monthly PBS Utah news conference, calling it a 'pretty normal year for most of the state.'
'However, I will say it wasn't a great year for all of the state. And southern Utah, especially southwestern Utah, was well below average and they are seeing some elevated drought conditions there. I would say, yes, there is a very real possibility; in fact, we're working on it right now, of an emergency declaration,' the governor said.
Statewide, the snow water equivalent — which is basically the amount of water currently in the snowpack — is at about 78% of normal, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, which tracks the snowpack at sites around the state. Much of northern Utah is between that or higher, with Snowbird's site at 96%, and a site in Big Cottonwood Canyon at 115%.
But many NRCS sites in southern Utah are below 50% of the median snow water equivalent, some with just 1%, even 0%. Much of Washington and Iron counties are currently in extreme drought, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources, while swaths of Beaver, Millard, Juab, Tooele, Uintah, Grand and San Juan counties are in severe drought.
The rest of the state is either in moderate drought or abnormally dry, except for a sliver of northwestern Box Elder County and the high elevation portions of Salt Lake, Utah, Morgan, Wasatch and Summit counties.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
'The Drought Response Committee has been meeting more regularly to address concerns in drought-impacted areas,' said Candice Hasenyager, Utah Division of Water Resources director, in a statement Friday. 'Many state agencies are coordinating their response to drought conditions that will likely intensify heading into summer.'
Hasenyager reminded Utahns to hold off on irrigation until 'your landscape needs it.'
'Most of northern Utah can hold off on irrigating until Mother's Day or until temperatures are in the mid-70s for several days,' she said.
The state's reservoirs somewhat mirror the snowpack, with northern Utah looking good and southern Utah falling behind. In the north, the larger lakes and reservoirs — Strawberry, Bear Lake, Jordanelle, Flaming Gorge, Utah Lake, Deer Creek, Starvation and Pineview — are all above 75% capacity, with some hovering just below 100%.
But south of Price, all but five reservoirs — Huntington, Joes Valley, Otter Creek, Quail Creek and Sand Hollow — are above 75%. Some, like Yuba Reservoir or Panguitch Lake, are below 50%.
The outlook is particularly bad for the country's second-largest reservoir, Lake Powell, which is federally controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. As of Friday, the reservoir was at about 32% capacity.
According to the Utah Rivers Council, Lake Powell is about 70 feet above the minimum level for the Glen Canyon Dam to generate hydroelectric power. That level will continue to decline into the summer and fall, the council said, pointing to an 'increasingly dire runoff future.'
'The countdown can start on Utah having to cut its portion of Colorado River water,' said Zach Frankel, executive director of the Utah Rivers Council. 'Other states in the basin are putting odds on how soon that will happen and it's definitely coming, alongside the shutdown of Glen Canyon hydropower.'
During the news conference on Thursday, Cox said he is 'always worried about Lake Powell,' and has been for years, with the Colorado River plagued by drought and decreased flows.
'The good news is that Lake Powell, that water going into Powell does not come from the southwest side of the state,' said Cox, referring to the source of the Colorado River, which is in alpine areas of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. 'The water content in the mountains is a little bit better there.'
The governor can declare a state of emergency in response to natural disasters or public health threats. However, after tension brewed between the Legislature and former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert over his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers passed a law in 2021 limiting emergency declarations to 30 days.
The Legislature could extend that emergency declaration if lawmakers pass a joint resolution.
Cox hinted that lawmakers could convene in May for a special session — so if he issues an emergency declaration this month, he'll have the opportunity to work with legislators to extend the declaration, since it's likely drought conditions will worsen during the spring and summer months.
Although he didn't elaborate on what the order will entail, Cox issued executive orders related to drought in 2021 and 2022. Both orders allowed drought-effected communities and agricultural producers access to state and federal emergency resources.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE