Utah needs farmers to lease water to solve its alarming shortages. Here’s what it’s doing to convince them to sign up.
Booming growth is driving more demand for water, but climate change, aridification and an over-allocated system ensure a short supply.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kevin Cotner, a farmer who uses Price River water, fallows some of his fields and leases the saved irrigation water to benefit the over-allocated Colorado River system, as seen on Aug. 16, 2023.
Leia Larsen is a sixth generation Utahn and a water and land use reporter reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune. She has covered environment, energy and political issues throughout the West. When she’s not chasing the news, Leia can be found exploring the Wasatch Mountains, sleeping in the desert or rooting around her garden.