Talking about water in Utah is not for the weary. Like many divisive issues, water—specifically its management, its commodification, and who has access to it—precipitates a multitude of opinions. However, I would argue that conversations about water are perhaps the most crucial to Utahns, since water seeps into literally every aspect of our lives. From recreation to agriculture and industry, to daily life and making a living, water is life in Utah.
In the summer of 2019, Utah Humanities launched their award-winning Think Water Utah project, a statewide collaboration and conversation on the already difficult topic of water. Think Water Utah commenced at the perfect time, before the COVID-19 pandemic and before a decades-long megadrought caused severe water shortages and restrictions in 2021. While the pandemic created challenges, it also benefited H2O Today in the Bear River Heritage Area (H2OinBRHA), a component of Think Water Utah, since it delayed and...
