4:14
Moab's drinking water starts as snow on the nearby La Sal mountains. It trickles into an underground aquifer and toward the town over thousands of years. Then, it flows through faucets in homes and hotel rooms in the tourism hot spot.
But no one knows exactly how much water is in the aquifer, or how much is coming out.
A 2020 report found there may be as little as 4,000 acre-feet of water entering the aquifer each year, which is close to what Moab is withdrawing annually right now. That's prompting a conversation in the community about limiting development and requiring water conservation, as well as whether Moab should wait for confirmation that it's running out of water or act now.