MOAB, Utah — A letter from California Governor Gavin Newsom to his fellow governors in states along the Colorado River is offering support for a multi-state solution to managing the water supply for 40 million people.
But it's a paragraph tucked in that letter, obtained by FOX 13 News, that has reliably red state Utah leaders praising their blue state counterparts.
"I continue to be encouraged by our shared commitment to finding a common pathway to manage the Colorado River. By securing an agreement among our states, we can provide crucial water security to our communities and economy for years to come," Gov. Newsom wrote in the Feb. 11 letter, which was sent before the negotiators announced an impasse on a framework deal on the Colorado River.
Still, the letter praised Utah Governor Spencer Cox for an idea that has been pushed by state political leaders for years now — the notion of trading Colorado River water shares for money for desalination plants.
"I agree with the vision that Governor Cox of Utah articulated in the recent meeting with Secretary Burgum to secure more water abundance by deploying advanced technologies and water transfers across the basin. California is excited to partner in this work. We welcome shared investments in infrastructure — from water reuse to desalination — that can reduce pressure on precious water supplies in Lake Powell and Lake Mead," Gov. Newsom wrote.
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Gov. Newsom's office declined to comment to FOX 13 News beyond the contents of the letter.
The idea has been pushed for years now by Utah State Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton. When FOX 13 News has pressed California water officials on it? They have not exactly shot it down, but expressed a willingness to at least discuss the concept of it.
Gov. Newsom's letter was greeted with enthusiasm from the Utah Senate President.
"Finally!" Sen. Adams reacted to the letter in a recent interview with FOX 13 News. "We know there’s not enough water to go around and the only way to get more water is to increase the size of the pie."
Speaking to reporters last week, Gov. Cox confirmed it did come up. He also offered praise for California's work in trying to come up with an agreement to manage the Colorado River.
"I know I'm sometimes hard on California," Gov. Cox said. "California’s been a really good partner in these discussions and negotiations."
Under deadline pressure from the Trump administration to come up a framework deal, the states — Utah, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona and Nevada — announced no agreement could be reached but offered to keep negotiating. The Trump administration said it would support that, but announced it would proceed with its own solutions that no state may like.
Gov. Cox was hopeful there was a pathway forward.
"We know the water situation on the Colorado is dire. This year, it’s not getting any better. It’s going to be a really rough year and the water flows just aren’t there. That means it’s going to hurt all of us. We can fight to the death over the last drop of water or we can work together to expand the amount of water that’s available for everyone," he said when asked specifically about the desalination proposal.
The Colorado River supplies water for more than 40 million people in the American West and Mexico. It is not just a river that flows through southeastern Utah, but provides water for a significant chunk of the Wasatch Front through the Central Utah Project. The current agreements governing the Colorado River will expire in October and there is a risk of lawsuits that could cut that water supply.
"They’re playing Russian Roulette but instead of one bullet? There’s four bullets in the chamber," John Weisheit, the head of Living Rivers and Colorado Riverkeeper, told FOX 13 News. "The risks are really high."
Weisheit said the entire Colorado River system is near collapse with reservoirs strained and Lake Powell projected to hit new lows this year. Living Rivers and Colorado Riverkeeper is also threatening its own lawsuit over the impact to numerous species of fish in the Colorado River impacted by diversions, habitat loss and non-native predators.
The Colorado River Authority of Utah declined to comment on the prospect of litigation on Tuesday.
"Curtailments are likely to start happening if they don’t have the money to pay the farmers to fallow their fields, it’ll take 30 years to build [desalination] and supplemental water supply," Weisheit said.
Environmental groups FOX 13 News has spoken with aren't exactly opposed to desalination efforts, but would prefer to see significantly increased conservation instead. They note the time it would take to build the plants and a significant cost.
It may be too late for the Utah legislature to hand money over to California for a desalination plant, not to mention the regulatory and environmental hurdles, but the Utah Senate President still was supportive.
"We know water is one of the biggest issues we have and if we need to? We’ll come back," Sen. Adams said. "We’ll find a way to make it work."
This article is published through the Colorado River Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative supported by the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air at Utah State University. See all of our stories about how Utahns are impacted by the Colorado River at greatsaltlakenews.org/coloradoriver
