Editor's Note

Happy New Year, readers!

The Great Salt Lake Collaborative team is back at work reporting about the crisis facing the Great Salt Lake. Over the next several weeks, you can expect to see more of the solutions-based stories you've become accustomed to.

We also want to hear from you. We've created a survey to help shape the future of this newsletter, and we hope you'll tell us what you like, what you dislike, etc. 

To help encourage your participation in our survey, each participant will be entered to win a $50 gift card. Interested? Click the button below.

As always, thank you for reading and for your ongoing support. 

– Heather May, project manager

Utah DEQ denies controversial Great Salt Lake project

A controversial proposal would have allowed the company to pump up to 100,000 gallons a minute out of the lake, which has hit record-low elevations two years in a row.

What's the value in new studies on saline lakes?

Kevin Perry, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Utah, says that despite all that's currently known about saline lakes, including the Great Salt Lake, there are still "many, many aspects" that either haven't been studied or aren't fully understood yet. That could very well change in the next five years with the money directed from the federal government.

Will recent storms impact the Great Salt Lake?

The state’s snowpack is off to a good start — and there's room for optimism — but the lake will need a lot more to recover.

You Asked, We Answered.

Explore answers to questions from the public about the Great Salt Lake. Do you have a question you wanted answered? Submit it here in our survey.

This week's question comes from Laurel in Draper.

Q: What will it realistically take to bring the lake back up to healthy levels?

A: Despite the daunting challenge of delivering the equivalent of two Bear Lakes to Great Salt Lake, Brad Wilson, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, told the Great Salt Lake Collaborative he feels positive about restoring the lake to former levels over the next five to ten years.

Joseph Wheaton, professor of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University, said determining a timeline for Great Salt Lake recovery is “such a difficult problem.”

– Reported and written by McCaulee Blackburn.

In Your Own Words: “Lake Effect”

As we continue to report, we want to ensure that those closest to the issue are heard. Utah Public Radio is producing “Lake Effect,” an audio storytelling series about Utahns' relationships with the Great Salt Lake. 

This week's story comes from John Luft, who explains why navigation on Great Salt Lake is going to be increasingly more difficult and risky.

“People always equate Great Salt Lake to a big bathtub, when in fact, a probably more apt description is it's like a giant dinner plate. It is really, really shallow.”

Throwback Thursday

The above photograph — courtesy of the Utah State Historical Society — shows people bathing at Saltair before the fire of 1925. 

Have an old photo of the Great Salt Lake that you'd like to share? Email it to info@greatsaltlakenews.org!

Crowdsourcing solutions

We figure those who live near the Great Salt Lake know a thing or two about what should be done to save it. 

We asked you what you think should be done to get more water to the lake, and we received an astounding number of submissions — more than 500 ideas. Here's a sampling:

“This might sound silly and it would be expensive and grand, but why can’t we do a pipeline from the Pacific to the Great Salt Lake? We move oil, which is much more dangerous, and we are concerned about rising sea levels anyway. It would mean we could put a substantial amount water into the lake at will for centuries to come.”
— Jacob Bissett

“Reduce urbanization, install more protections for the Bear River, reduce industrial profit/growth based production.”
— Mackenzie McMillen

“Conservation incentives for both culinary and irrigation water would be one of the fastest methods. The more xeriscaping we have along the Wasatch Front the better!”
— Ephraim Tripp

Great Salt Lake Water Levels

On Jan. 5, 2023, the Great Salt Lake was 4,188.92 above sea level.

Get Involved!

The Great Salt Lake impacts our drinking water, snow, air quality, economy, ecology and more. It truly touches all aspects of Utahns' lives, and we want to ensure your voices are heard.

Get involved with the Great Salt Lake Collaborative by sharing your personal relationship with the lake or taking our survey