The Utah Division of Water Rights (DWRi) is an agency of Utah State Government within the Department of Natural Resources that administers the measurement, appropriation, apportionment, and distribution of the state’s valuable water resources. DWRi collects and maintains records of water diversion from surface and underground sources, which are mainly included in water distribution systems within the state. The extensive data collection DWRi undertakes to enable management of Utah’s water resources and to meet its mandate requires significant information technology (IT) infrastructure. Data collection hardware (e.g., measurement structures and sensors installed in the field), software, and databases are needed to enable collection, management, and use of the data. While DWRi has developed and operates a water use data infrastructure for the state of Utah, some of the systems used by DWRi have become dated, lack necessary flexibility, and may not scale to meet DWRi’s growing data management needs. Furthermore, a recent Legislative Audit recommended that DWRi work toward use of best practices for data management to improve effectiveness, increase the availability and usability of DWRi’s data, and to more effectively monitor state water. To address these challenges and recommendations, in 2023 DWRi initiated a process to critically examine their existing data infrastructure and identify areas where modernization and enhancements are needed. That initial effort resulted in a "Hydroinformatics and Technology Gap Analysis" conducted by Utah State University that provided an in-depth examination of DWRi's current data and IT infrastructure, software systems, and processes. The Gap Analysis identified disparities between DWRi’s existing systems and capabilities and the organizational goals, industry standards, and improvements needed as identified by USU and DWRi personnel.

This Technology Modernization Roadmap considers the gaps and recommendations developed through the Gap Analysis and lays out a sequenced plan, or roadmap, for software development and other activities that will help DWRi modernize and advance their data collection and management infrastructure to meet existing operational needs, along with evolving data collection and management requirements associated with new programs. This Roadmap lays out the foundations for implementing data management best practices to improve the usability of DWRi’s data, along with the transparency and accountability of DWRi’s operations for effective water management and planning in Utah for decades to come.

To access the Technology Modernization Roadmap document, scroll to the "Content" section below, right click on the PDF document, and select download. You can also double click on the file to download. To access the Hydroinformatics and Technology Gap Analysis document on which this Roadmap document is based, scroll to the “Related Resources” section below and click the link to the gap analysis document.

To learn more about Utah Division of Water Rights, visit: https://waterrights.utah.gov/