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Letter: Utah needs a statewide law that requires proof of water availability before new building construction

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Apartments under construction on 900 West in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023.

I continue to read articles in The Tribune about new housing construction but the question of where the water to service these new residences will come from is never addressed satisfactorily. To me, this suggests a serious flaw in the governmental permitting process.

In my view, no new building permit for any residential or other building that will use water should be granted without satisfactory proof by the applicant respecting the source of the water to service the new building. This proposition seems self-evident, but apparently it is not.

It is time for a statewide law that requires proof of water availability before any application for new building construction is entertained or permitted. Perhaps then, developers will turn their attention to the development of water resources before commencing construction of new residential units.

George A. Hunt, Salt Lake City

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