In a dry state like Utah, there’s not always enough water to go around. But when there is extra water, how exactly do you spread it around? Over the past three years, the state’s water banking program has been testing the processes for doing just that. The program provides avenues for a water rights holder with extra water to lease it to someone else in their area without losing the right to that water. It started with the Utah Water Banking Act, which the Legislature approved in 2020 to promote voluntary, temporary, local water transfers. The state is now starting to see positive results from the four pilot projects that put the idea into practice, as well as working out any bugs.