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Show water Management and Conservation Plans Background Water management and conservation ( WMC) plans for water utilities and companies are analogous to business plans in the world of commerce. Like a good business plan, a WMC plan acknowledges past accomplishments, gives an accurate accounting of present standing and charts a course for the future of a water utility or company. The WMC plans of water utilities and companies are the heart of implementing recommendations of sound water policy. A good WMC plan is a valuable tool for decision- makers to guide individual programs and projects in the direction the utility has set for the future. A sound WMC plan is as valuable for small irrigation companies and municipalities as it is for large water wholesalers and retailers. A management and conservation plan for a small company will generally be less complicated because the service area, amount of water delivered, number of service connections and less complex future growth patterns usually limit the number of variables and data collection required. Section 17 of the Utah State Water Plan details overall policy guidelines for Utah with the separate river basin reports providing more data at the basin level. Development of WMC plans at the water supplier level is the most efficient way of determining problems and providing solutions by those most familiar with the water utility or company. Status Currently, there are no state or local requirements for the development of water conservation and management plans in Utah. Several states in the arid west ( Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado and others) require the periodic submittal of plans and reports by water utilities which qualify as water management and conservation plans. Under the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 ( PL 97- 293), the U. S. Bureau cf Reclamation requires users of water provided by bureau projects to submit conservation plans. These plans contain many elements associated with WMC plans. In 1990 the Division of Water Resources developed draft legislation for Urban Water Management Planning. The draft legislation, however, was not acted upon. Some of the larger water wholesalers/ retailers have developed WMC plans in an effort to prepare for the future as well as respond to federal requirements under the USBR Reclamation Reform Act. Developing Water Management and Conservation Plans What constitutes a WMC plan? While WMC plans can be very complex and lengthy, this is not a necessary requirement. The level of complexity should be commensurate with the size of the water utility or company. A good water management and conservation plan should include the following: to £ to GO to 5' to |