PRESS RELEASE: Urban Water Conservation Sends New Water Flows to Great Salt Lake
Salt Lake City, (April 6, 2026)—Great Salt Lake is set to receive a much-needed lift of new water thanks to the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy and their member cities’ conservation efforts.
An average of 2,500 acre-feet of water per year will now run into Great Salt Lake’s Farmington and Gilbert Bays, from a unique water source high up in the Wasatch Mountains. This effort is possible thanks to a partnership that includes National Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy as co-managers of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy (Metro Water), Great Salt Lake Rising, and the Utah Divisions of Wildlife Resources and Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
“For 90 years, Metro Water has provided reliable, clean water to the Salt Lake Valley,” said Annalee Munsey, General Manager of Metro Water. “The well-being of the Great Salt Lake is vital to the health of our snowpack, our community, and our state. We’re proud of our collaborative undertaking to identify available water for the Great Salt Lake, and we’re grateful for our member cities, Salt Lake City and Sandy City, whose dedicated conservation efforts made this partnership possible.”
“We are proud Sandy’s conservation efforts have made this water available to shepherd downriver to Great Salt Lake,” said Tom Ward, Director of Sandy City Public Utilities. “Not only is Sandy conservation helping save the lake, it saves our community from future water development costs over the long term. Sandy recognizes a dry Great Salt Lake would create a huge tax on our economy, environment, public health, and household budgets. We hope that other cities will join us and seize the opportunity to save water, save money, and save the lake.”
“Provision of this water to Great Salt Lake could only happen because the communities served by Salt Lake City, Sandy City, and Metro Water are taking water conservation seriously,” said Laura Briefer, Director of Salt Lake City Public Utilities. “However, we can and should conserve more water. Now is the time to increase water conservation in our communities and across the Great Salt Lake Basin to protect the lake now and for future generations.”
This water is now available through a lease for use in Great Salt Lake for up to 10 years and potentially longer, depending on residential water conservation and future water years. Without this partnership, this water would not naturally reach Great Salt Lake. The Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust (the Trust), Metro Water, and the river commissioners will deliver the water through a complex system to ensure it reaches Great Salt Lake through the Jordan River, benefiting surrounding communities, wildlife, wetlands and lake.
“An important source of water for Great Salt Lake and our future generations will come from reducing water consumption – especially in outdoor landscapes,” said Marcelle Shoop, Executive Director of the Trust. “This water lease and partnership with Metro Water is an important example of how conservation efforts by individuals and local governments translate urban water savings into action that can benefit the lake and its wetlands.”
Funding for this transaction is provided by the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust and Great Salt Lake Rising.
“Great Salt Lake Rising was created with the intention of funding initiatives like this transaction—collaborative solutions that provide meaningful and measurable impact for Great Salt Lake,” said Josh Romney, Board Chair of Great Salt Lake Rising. “As we join this community of residents, business owners, cities, and the partners who have made this delivery of water possible, we hope it encourages others to do their part when it comes to saving the lake.”
While it is worth celebrating this water’s availability thanks to prior conservation, water providers saw a significant increase in water use from Utah residents in the summer of 2025–an especially alarming trend as we consider the impact of the current low snowpack levels.
“Record-low snowpack is a reminder that water security is a shared responsibility,” said Joel Ferry, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. “We can’t rely on unpredictable winters to meet our historical water demands. By increasing conservation, residents are playing a vital role in protecting this precious resource.”
“Water transactions such as this highlight the ongoing need for community-wide conservation and remind us that every drop of water getting to Great Salt Lake matters,” said Brian Steed, Great Salt Lake Commissioner.
The Trust and its partners look forward to working together in the years to come to ensure future transactions like this one are possible.
Learn more about the impact of water conservation in Utah, Salt Lake City, and Sandy →
Media Contacts:
Shaela Adams, Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust
shaela.adams@audubon.org, 801-809-5805
Breana Jackson, Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake & Sandy
bjackson@mwdsls.gov, 408.838.9492
