Salt Lake City, UT — Feb. 13, 2026 — As Utah lawmakers debate major water legislation this session, policy experts at the University of Utah say that lawmakers must prioritize three core legal and policy reforms to restore Great Salt Lake: streamlined statutory reforms to voluntary water markets, robust and ongoing funding, and urban water conservation reforms.
Great Salt Lake Rescue Plan: A Policy Guide for the 2026 Legislative Session, created by Great Salt Lake Project at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law, outlines the bills introduced this legislative session that could meaningfully accelerate the lake’s recovery before the 2034 Olympic Games.
“Great Salt Lake is nearing an all-time low, and this legislative session matters more than ever,” said Brig Daniels, a law professor and one of the project leads with the Great Salt Lake Project. “To restore the lake by 2034, we need bold progress this year and every year.”
As Utah enters the second half of the legislative session amid one of its driest winters on record—with Great Salt Lake once again at risk of reaching historic lows—the Policy Guide highlights bills that would help address major hurdles and build on progress made in previous sessions to accelerate Great Salt Lake’s recovery.
“Water law moves at a glacial pace. Even so, Utah has made significant and meaningful reforms to state water law over the past six years to respond to the lake’s decline. That progress matters, but still, more is needed to restore the lake,” said Beth Parker, professor of law and another lead of the Great Salt Lake Project. “Rep. Jill Koford is the sponsor of the two most important bills for the lake this legislative session. The first of these (H.B. 348), cuts the red tape in transferring water rights to the lake. The second (H.B. 410), gives the state $5 million dollars to lease water from farmers.”
Other important bills discussed in the Policy Guide include H.B. 155 (Rep. Doug Owens), H.B. 328 (Rep. Clinton Okerlund), and H.B. 400 (Owens), all of which target reducing urban water use.
“I’m so grateful for the meaningful legislation moving forward, which could signal the beginning of a comprehensive lake rescue package,” said Ben Abbott, BYU ecologist and executive director of Grow the Flow. “No community facing the decline of a saline lake has ever successfully brought one back. Utah is uniquely positioned to be the first. We have the tools, institutions, values, and ingenuity needed to lead unprecedented water policy reforms.”
The report emphasizes that while the current bills represent meaningful progress, additional legal and policy reforms and sustained long-term investment will be required if the state is to meet its commitment to restore Great Salt Lake to healthy levels by 2034.
