Utah’s Drought Reality Check

Utah’s leaders are telling all of us to conserve water, fix leaks, and rethink thirsty lawns, and they’re right to. But the same week Governor Spencer Cox declares a statewide drought emergency, he also publicly admits the Stratos data center rollout “was not that good,” a major reversal on a massive Box Elder County proposal tied to the Great Salt Lake. We sit with that contradiction and unpack what it means for democratic process, water rights, energy demand, and whether Utah is building a future that matches its climate reality.

From there, we head straight to Salt Lake City Hall for a fast, unexpected resolution in the Ava Lopez-Chavez saga. A residency finding vacates the District 4 seat immediately under state code, and the council drops the separate sexual misconduct investigation once she’s no longer a member. We talk through the timeline, the documents at the center of the dispute, and what happens next as the city races to appoint an interim replacement during budget season.

Then we explain the giant smoke plume you might have seen over Davis County, and why it was good news. The Farmington Bay prescribed burn targets phragmites, an invasive, water-hungry reed that chokes wetlands and threatens habitat, and researchers say restoration could save huge amounts of water each season. We close with quick hits, from school district background check changes to new Utah culture plans, sports notes, and a preview of next week’s conversation with foster care advocate and author Celeste Edmonds.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What is up, everybody, and welcome back to another weekly update of the Small Lake City Podcast. I'm your host, Eric Nilsson, and happy Tuesday, happy Memorial Day week. And if you're listening to this fresh on Tuesday afternoon, hopefully you got a little extra weekend to breathe. Maybe grilled something, maybe hiked somewhere, maybe just sat in the backyard and enjoyed the fact that it is finally properly summer in Salt Lake. Last week on the show, Governor Cox said out loud that the Stratos data center rolled out was, quote, not that good. And then two days later, he declared a statewide drought emergency. We're going to sit with that irony for a few minutes. We've also got a major update out in City Hall on the Eva Lopez-Chavez situation, and we're talking about big fire this weekend that was actually a good thing. A prescribed burnout at Farmington Bay aimed at wiping out one of the most water-hungry invasive species in the state. Plus, a few quick hits, a look back at last week's incredible guest, and a tease for next week that I think is going to be one of the most meaningful conversations we've had on the show. So let's get into it. Last week I sat down with Rosie Card. Now, Rosie is a content creator, designer, and advocate who went from creating temple clothing and working closely with the LDS Church to now building a powerful platform around women's rights, DIY projects, and her own honest story about stepping away from something that defined her entire life. It's a conversation that moved me personally. She's thoughtful, funny, and brave in a way that's really hard to fake. If you grew up in the state or know someone who did, go

Memorial Day Week Kickoff

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back and listen. That episode is worth your time. All right, so let's jump into the first story. And I want to tell you these two things together because the timing is impeccable. Last Wednesday, Governor Spencer Cox stood up at the Mountain West Geothermal Convention in Salt Lake City and publicly acknowledged that the rollout of the Stratos project, that massive 40,000-acre 9-gigawatt data center proposal in Box Elder County, was not good. Those were his words. He said the approval process should have involved his office and the legislature, and that in the future, decisions like this need to go through proper democratic channels rather than being rushed through by MIDA, the state's military installation development authority. That's a significant walk back from a governor who had been framing the project as a national security necessity. Then two days later, Governor Cox stood in front of Little Dell Reservoir, just east of Salt Lake City, and declared a statewide drought emergency. Then two days later, Governor Cox stood in front of Little Dell Reservoir, just east of Salt Lake City, and declared

Rosie Card Conversation Recap

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a statewide drought emergency. All 29 Utah counties are in severe drought. 22 of them are in extreme drought. This winter was the warmest on record, by nearly three degrees, and snowpack levels hit their lowest point since the 1930s. The governor said his own farm in Fairview had been cut to almost half of normal production. He urged every Utah to conserve water. He said, and I'm quoting here, we can't control the weather, but we can control the taps. Now hold those two things in your head at the same time.

Stratos Data Center Meets Drought

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We're in one of the worst droughts in Utah history. Our snowpack, which supplies 95% of the state's water, essentially didn't show up this winter. The Great Salt Lake is already six feet below a healthy level, and at the same time, the state is moving forward with approvals for a project that would be powered by more electricity than the entire state currently uses. Next to that same lake, with water rights still being actively contested and no independent environmental review. Cox did try to address the contradiction directly. He said the data center would actually return water to the lake because it uses less than current agricultural operations on that land. Scientists and water experts strongly dispute that framing at the current scale being proposed. And when your own emergency declaration is telling every Utah to fix their leaky faucets and pull out their lawns, it's a hard sell to simultaneously argue a 9 gigawatt industrial campus is a water conservation wind. Meanwhile, the Ruby Pipeline, the financially troubled 680-mile natural gas corridor that would power the whole thing, was also in the news this week, as the Salt Lake Tribune dug into its history of debt and bankruptcy. The pipeline that is the literal foundation of this project once carried nearly $500 million in liabilities. That's the infrastructure underpinning a proposed $100 billion investment. Make of that what you will. Citizen referendum efforts in Box Elder County are still gathering signatures, legal challenges are being organized, and now the governor's own language gives opponents real ammunition to push for the independent review they've demanded from the start. We'll keep watching this one for sure. Our second story is out of City Hall, and if you've been following the Ava Lopez-Chavez saga, this week brought a resolution that moved a lot faster than anyone expected. Quick recap: Lopez Chavez was the District 4 council member who earlier this month had her duty suspended while the city council launched a formal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against her. Accusations from four people, including a sitting state senator and a state representative. She denied everything. That investigation was supposed to run through July. But then a separate issue came to a head. A District 4 constituent filed a complaint saying Lopez Chavez had bought a home outside her district boundaries last September, and that her mortgage deed actually required her to make it her primary residence within 60 days of signing. The city attorney and recorder's office investigated, reviewed the documents her lawyers submitted, and concluded she had failed to maintain a primary place of residence within District 4. Under Utah State Code, that finding automatically vacates the seat. Immediately. No vote, no drawn-out process, she was out as of May 12th. Now here's the twist. Because she was no longer a council member, the council then voted to drop the sexual misconduct investigation entirely. And Lopez Chavez actually pushed back on that. She said that she welcomed the investigation because she had nothing to hide and the public deserved to see facts examining her openly. Her attorney says they're exploring legal options on the residency filing. She said in a statement, what was announced today did not come from the community I

Ava Lopez-Chavez Seat Vacated

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serve. The city now has until June 11th to appoint an interim replacement for District 4, which covers much of downtown Salt Lake City. With budget season in full swing, that seat needs to be filled fast, and we'll see who the council puts forward. Now this story requires a little bit of explaining, because if you were in the Salt Lake Valley on Monday and looked north, you probably saw a massive plume of smoke rising above Davis County and probably thought something was very, very wrong. It wasn't. It was actually something very right. Utah Forestry, Fire and State Lands carried out a large prescribed burn over Memorial Day weekend near Farmington Bay. What's called the Turpin RX burn. Originally planned for 1,500 acres, but it ended up covering more than 5,000 acres after an unexpected windshift pushed the fire into an adjacent burn zone called Crystal RX. Officials say that's okay. Everything stayed within controlled areas and the crews knew what they were doing. The target of the fire? Phragmites. And if you don't know what that is, you've almost definitely seen it. It's that tall golden brown grass-like reed that lines the shores of the Great Salt Lake and basically every wetland in the state. And it's not from here. It's an invasive species that has taken over Utah's wetlands, crowding out native plants, destroying migratory bird habit, and here's the part that matters most: drinking an enormous amount of water. Phragmites steals water in two ways. It sucks up through the soil and it evaporates it back into the air through its leaves. State researchers estimate that if all the invasive fragmites in the Great Salt Lake shoreline were replaced with native salt grass, we could save around 80,000 acre feet of water per season. To put that into perspective, that's enough water for tens of thousands of Utah

Farmington Bay Prescribed Burn Explained

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households every year. So when you saw that smoke on Monday, you were watching people fight for the Great Salt Lake using one of the oldest tools we have: fire. Prescribed, controlled, intentional fire, burning out a water-sealing invader to try to get back more water into a lake that desperately needs it. Utah Fire Info put it well on the social media site. This critical work controls evasive fragmites, restoring vital habitats for migratory birds and clearing the way for crucial water to reach the Great Salt Lake. In a week where we're also talking about drought emergencies and data center controversies, it's worth holding space for the people doing the unglamorous, smoke-producing patient work of actually trying to save this place. Alright, and now for a few last segments before we wrap up this week's update. A story that broke today and honestly makes you shake your head. The Salt Lake City School District is expanding its background check requirements after the spouse of a Highland High School assistant cheerleading coach joined the team on an overnight trip to California. That spouse is a registered sex offender. The district says the person was not supposed to be on the trip and they're now closing the policy gap that allowed it to happen. This should not have been a gap in the first place. The district is doing the right thing by fixing it, but the fact that it needed fixing is alarming. Also, some genuinely exciting culture news. David and Donnie Osmond announced last week that the Osman family is planning to build a 20,000-seat outdoor amphitheater called the Vesper Amphitheater at the base of Provo Canyon, on the site of former quarry. It would also convert to an 8,000-seat indoor venue for winter performances. Donnie said he wants it to be the kind of place where agents and managers tell artists you have to play at the Vesper. Construction could start as early as spring 2027 if rezoning approvals come through. Utah County getting a world-class mountain venue is genuinely exciting for this whole region. Next, the jazz draft conversation is absolutely everywhere. They hold the number two overall pick on June 23rd, and the debate between Darren Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson is going to dominate sports talk here all month. Worth noting, Carlos Boozer, former jazz legend, is currently on the team scouting staff. His son Cameron

School Policy Gap And Culture News

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is in this drafting class. The subplot is going to be talked about until draft night, so stay tuned. And finally, the RSL Academy U1 teams are hosting the MLS Next Cup right here in Utah this week, and they are in the running. They beat Orlando City 4-0 and Philadelphia Union 2-1 to advance. Quarterfinals are happening now at Zions Bank Stadium in Harriman. Home soil, youth soccer, something to root for. Next week I'm sitting down with Celeste Edmonds, author of Garbage Bag Girl and executive director of The Christmas Box. She grew up in the foster system, never living anywhere for more than six months at a time. And she turned that into an organization that supports kids living through the exact thing that she survived. She's warm and real and the kind of person who makes you want to do something. One of those conversations that stays with you. So don't miss it. All right, so that is your Small Lake City weekly update for today, May 26th. Thanks for being here. And if this means something to you, share it, leave a review, leave a comment, or tell a friend. It genuinely helps us reach more people who care about the city. And make sure to follow everywhere at Small Lake Pod. And I will see you next Tuesday.