waterloop #134: Utah’s Cold-Shoulder To Conservation

Utah is one of the driest states in the U.S. and the strain on water resources is growing as its population booms and climate change fuels aridification across the American West. But instead of aggressively advancing water conservation as other states are doing, Utah is brazenly rejecting that approach and pursuing costly infrastructure projects like pipelines, a situation covered by Mark Olalde, a reporter for ProPublica. In this episode, Mark discusses his story, the outsized influence of water districts and lobbyists on state policy, and examples of how Utah has shunned conservation measures such as demand management, native landscaping, and water loss tracking. waterloop is a nonprofit media outlet, made possible in part by a grant from Spring Point Partners. Find all content at waterloop.org Listeners can support waterloop and get exclusive opportunities through Patreon .