Sandy residents won't face mandatory Colorado River water cuts under a federal plan released Friday, July 31, but the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy is still on track to raise property taxes by fiscal year 2028.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's final environmental impact statement imposes cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet per year on Arizona, California, and Nevada. That's nearly double the 1.6 million acre-feet reduction those three states had proposed on May 1. Utah and the other Upper Basin states are largely spared from mandatory reductions, though the plan requires them to set conservation targets and negotiate two-year operating deals over the next decade.

"We get cuts from Mother Nature every year," Gene Shawcroft, Utah's Colorado River Commissioner, told Fox 13 on July 31. "We don't know what those cuts are, we have to live with what Mother Nature provides us."

What it means for Sandy

The federal ruling doesn't change the math at home. Annalee Munsee, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy, told the Sandy City Council on May 26 that the district anticipates bonding during fiscal year 2027 and a property tax rate increase in FY 2028 to fund capital improvements, according to council minutes.

As we reported July 29, the council voted 5-2 on June 16 to redirect $95,000 in Central Wasatch Commission membership fees to the city's water capital fund for mainline replacements. The council overrode Mayor Monica Zoltanski's line-item veto of that provision on July 7.

Lake Powell sat at 23% capacity and Lake Mead at 27% the week of July 21, their lowest combined levels on record.

State leaders call it a short-term fix

Gov. Spencer Cox said the plan buys time but doesn't settle the long-term question. He called it a short-term roadmap rather than a finish line and said the durable answer must come from all seven basin states agreeing to terms together.

House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, was blunter. He told Fox 13 he was disappointed the states couldn't reach their own deal and vowed Utah would defend its Colorado River rights.

Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, floated an unconventional idea: Utah building desalination plants for California in exchange for a share of California's river allocation.

The Bureau of Reclamation is also seeking voluntary Upper Basin conservation of up to 200,000 acre-feet, according to Inside Climate News. The 10-year framework runs through 2036, with operations updated every two years.

Not final yet

The FEIS is not the last step. The Bureau of Reclamation must still issue a Record of Decision following an expedited public comment period before the guidelines take legal effect. After that, the bureau will release a two-year operating plan for 2027 and 2028.

No Sandy City Council meeting has been scheduled to discuss the federal plan. The next federal milestone is the Record of Decision and public comment period, though no specific date has been announced.