Established in 2021 through landmark legislation sponsored by the Utah State House Speaker Brad Wilson and Senate President J. Stuart Adams, the Utah State Legislature passed the Colorado River Amendments (HB297) to create the Colorado River Authority of Utah. Governor Spencer Cox signed HB297 into law on March 16, 2021.
“Given what’s at stake for the entire state, the Colorado River Authority will help prioritize and wisely use the specialists, engineering, planning and conservation resources required to succeed,” President Adams said. “It is not about taking water away from other states. It is about protecting Utah’s water shares.”
The creation of the CRAU comes at a critical time as Utah looks towards renegotiations of the 2007 Interim Guidelines over the next five years, plans for a doubling of its population by 2065, and the Basin grapples with record drought.
“We are building on the vision and courage of Utah leaders who came before us and negotiated the Colorado River Compact. We celebrate the Colorado Authority because it elevates Utah to a position of strength and next-generation thinking,” Speaker Wilson said. “The Authority will significantly enhance the State’s ability to do our duty to current and future generations of Utahns.”