The largest saltwater lake in the Americas is drying up—and fast. Utah’s Great Salt Lake and its surrounding marshes are home to millions of species, from waterfowl to brine shrimp. With the wetlands around the lake spanning 360,000 acres, many bird species use the lake as a resting point during migrations between North and South America. It is a vital source of minerals for surrounding areas, contributes to Utah’s snowpack, and supports valuable wetlands across the state, and acts as an important economic foothold for Utah, both in sightseeing and wildlife preservation. The Government of Utah has estimated that the Great Salt Lake contributes approximately $1.9B US dollars to the state’s economy.

And that makes it even more ominous that the Great Lake is under severe environmental threat. In a report from January, researchers at Brigham Young University warned that excess water use has caused the lake to lose 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area. This has increased the lake’s salinity to “levels incompatible with the lake’s food webs.” It has also exposed toxic dust that threatens species native to the lake. Despite this, there are ways that the state of Utah can prolong these effects—at least until they’re able to develop long-lasting, fast-acting solutions to save the lake. This report outlined steps that Utah lawmakers can take to do so, and many of these can be achieved in the current legislative session.

Utah’s 45-day legislative session runs from January 17 to March 3, 2023. Lawmakers designated the week of January 28 – February 3 as “water week,” but no major moves were made on conserving the Great Salt Lake. A bill requiring golf courses to make information on their water usage publicly accessible was opposed by committee members and the golf industry, and subsequently tabled. Utah’s House Speaker, Brad Wilson, said that when water bills are introduced, they will be a “big policy and a big funding priority for us.” Prior to this legislative session, some moves have already been made. Last year, the governor closed the Salt Lake basin to appropriations for new water uses. He also allocated major funding to preservation and supply efforts for the lake. The annual budget included “$132.9 million for the lake, incorporating $100 million for short-term water leases to “shepherd” agricultural water to the lake, and another $217.9 million for statewide water conservation and supply measures.” Other changes are taking place, particularly in the agricultural sector, but swift action this year is required to make sure millions of species do not die out when the lake runs dry, and that Utah doesn’t undergo painful and permanent ecological collapse.

Works Cited

Abbott, Benjamin W. et al. Emergency measures needed to rescue Great Salt Lake from ongoing collapse. Brigham Young University.

Audubon and TNC to Lead Great Salt Lake Water Trust, June 15, 2022, https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/great-salt-lake-water-trust/.

Bush, Evan. The Great Salt Lake is drying up and turning into toxic dust, December 7, 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/salt-lake-citys-efforts-fight-pollution-face-new-challenge-toxic-dust-rcna44508.

———. With Great Salt Lake at rock bottom, lawmakers aim for rescue, January 21, 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/great-salt-lake-rock-bottom-lawmakers-aim-rescue-rcna65737.

Gov. Cox Issues Proclamation Closing Great Salt Lake Basin to New Water Right Appropriations, 2022, https://governor.utah.gov/2022/11/03/gov-cox-issues-proclamation-closing-great-salt-lake-basin-to-new-water-right-appropriations/.

Great Salt Lake, a, https://greatsaltlake.utah.gov/.

Great Salt Lake, b, https://water.utah.gov/great-salt-lake/.

Richardson, Holly. Legislative wrap: The water week where no water bills passed, February 3, 2023, https://www.deseret.com/2023/2/3/23576093/utah-legislature-week-three-water-bills.

Whitworth, Kayna et al. Great Salt Lake dry-up causing dangerous climate ripple effect, ecologists say, July 18, 2022, https://abcnews.go.com/US/great-salt-lake-dry-causing-dangerous-climate-ripple/story.

Image credits: 

By DR04 - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8461500