Having enough water was important to voters in the 2024 Utah Priorities Project. Survey respondents across various demographic groups felt very similarly about this issue. Most of the open-ended comments focused on ensuring that Utah has enough water, particularly in light of the state’s rapid population growth. Three current issues regarding water are the efforts to encourage less residential outdoor water use, legislation that incentivizes agricultural efficiency, and updates to the Colorado River interim guidelines.
Utah voters express a willingness to take further steps to reduce their own outdoor water use. Over 54% of respondents report they are very or extremely willing to remove 50% of their lawn or allow it to be brown during summer months to reduce the cost of Utah’s water infrastructure investments by 30%. Liberal voters, Democrats, and the non-religious were all more willing than conservative voters, Republicans, unaffiliated voters, and the actively and inactively religious.
Read the brief here.
