(The Center Square) – Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed an executive order in hopes of increasing the state’s drought resiliency.
Cox issued Executive Order 2023-07 on Thursday. It directs every state agency to, “assess its compliance with water conservation requirements for state facilities, coordinate with the Division of Facilities Construction and Management and the Division of Water Resources to implement and follow those requirements, and follow the Division of Water Resources’ weekly watering guide,” according to a press release from the governor’s office.
Cox said the state needs to boost its water conservation efforts to meet its needs.
“While we are thankful for the record-breaking snowpack we received this season, we have to keep up the good work of conserving this precious natural resource,” Governor Cox said in the release. “Maintaining and expanding existing water-saving measures will only increase Utah’s ability to grow sustainably.”
Utah is one of the driest states in America, according to the release. Some parts of the state have faced drought conditions nearly every year during the 21st century.
However, the governor’s office said that the state’s conservation efforts have helped mitigate some of the negative impacts of that dryness.
“Fortunately, Utahns have conserved billions of gallons of water over the past two years,” the release said. “The valiant efforts of individual Utahns across the state – combined with infrastructure and efficiency measures by government – are helping to keep more water in our reservoirs than the state would have been able to with typical use and during population growth.”
The Executive Order took effect immediately and will remain in effect as long as the governor sees fit.
