What is happening to the Great Salt Lake and what can we do about it?

With the lowest recorded water levels the Great Salt Lake has ever seen, the lake risks losing its diverse ecosystem. 

Home to millions of migratory birds and brine shrimp, the deterioration of the Great Salt Lake’s water levels will affect organisms from the bottom of the food chain, all the way up to humans and their environment. 

According to a Utah Geological Survey released by the Department of Natural Resources, microbialites are underwater reef-like mounds that form the base of the Great Salt Lake’s entire ecosystem. They serve as a primary food source for brine shrimp and brine flies, which in turn feed the birds that come to the lake. 

The survey says with the water levels in the lake declining, a significant amount of microbialites will be exposed. This leads to the microbial mat eroding off of the top of microbialite structures, and takes several years of higher lake level before the microbial mat can recover. This means the primary food source for the brine shrimp and flies is disappearing. 

Scott Baxter, a Cache Valley resident, has been kayaking the Great Salt Lake for over 30 years. He has worked with natural resource groups and research scientists, to study the history of the lake.

In September 2021, he circumnavigated the lake with Matt Kahabka to document the lake’s decline. They saw the exposed microbialites first hand. 

“It was just like a battle cemetery,” Baxter said in a phone interview. “It was devastating to look at what was happening. We paddled by them for miles. In some places the microbialites were two or three miles deep in between us and the shore.”

The ecosystem is not the only thing that will be affected by the decline in the lake’s water levels. Baxter said when the lakebed is exposed, dust full of arsenic and other chemicals is easily picked up by winds. 

“The winds blow right into the Wasatch Front where the population center for Utah is, so it’s going to become a significant health hazard,” Baxter said. 

Patrick Belmont, a professor and department head of watershed sciences at Utah State University, said he likes to look at the broader context and understand how everything is interconnected. 

“Something like the Great Salt Lake is not just a water problem,” Belmont said. “It’s a people problem. It’s a bird problem. It’s a plant problem. It’s an air quality problem. It’s a climate problem. It’s a snowpack problem.”

One might wonder how local and state leaders plan to look at all of the factors influencing the Great Salt Lake when it comes to creating and changing policies.

USU has an interdisciplinary initiative, called The Janet Quinney Institute for Land, Water, and Air, that brings together USU land, water and air researchers, and connects them with Utah problem solvers.

Brian Steed is the institute’s executive program director. 

“We’re working very closely with researchers here on campus getting the best information we can,” Steed said. “Then we’re taking that information to policymakers, both at the local level and the state level, trying to get them to understand what that research shows and how it can be applied to have those real water savings we’re talking about.”

Researchers at USU and the University of Utah formed the Great Salt Lake Strike Team, which includes experts in public policy, hydrology, water management, climatology and dust. On Feb. 8 2023, they released a Great Salt Lake Policy Assessment affirming the urgency of the situation. 

According to the assessment, the strike team estimates human and natural consumptive water use comprises 67-73% of the Great Salt Lake’s low elevation, natural variability comprises 15-23% and climate warming comprises 8-11%. 

Because natural variability, climate warming and direct evaporation are expected to increase with continued climate change, the assessment says that the solution must focus on human water use because it is the only element that can be changed in the near term. 

In a virtual interview, State Rep. Dan Johnson said the Utah Legislature passed bills to help fix the problem. One of these bills is called Secondary Water Metering Amendments. This bill was put into effect on May 7, 2022, and imposes requirements related to metering pressurized secondary water. 

However, Johnson said he recognizes conservation cannot be the only factor in solving the problem.

“Conservation is going to be the biggest savior for us, but we can’t just conserve our way to the end of this,” Johnson said.

The legislature passed another bill that was put into effect on March 21, 2022, called Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Program. This bill addresses the duties of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands related to the Great Salt Lake. Utah’s general fund gave $40,000,000 to the Department of Natural Resources for this program. 

Rep. Scott Chew proposed another bill, called Utah Water Ways. This bill provides for the creation of a new nonprofit, statewide partnership addressing water. If this bill is passed in 2024, a one-time appropriation of $2,000,000 will be given to the Department of Natural Resources from Utah’s general fund, and they will receive an ongoing appropriation of $1,000,000. 

While there are some laws set in place, and others that are starting to be put into motion, Johnson said it will take time. 

“These are all really doable things, but they won’t be done by next Christmas,” he said. 

 Johnson said legislators pay a lot of attention to the data they get from USU’s researchers. He said continuing to look at this information is one of the most important things legislators can do when they are determining ways to fix the problem. 

 “I don’t think there’s anybody in the state legislature that doesn’t realize that we have to fund these different types of scientific projects and look at that data and make sure it helps us,” Johnson said. 

While policies to save the Great Salt Lake have to be put into effect by lawmakers, individuals can take action in their own lives. 

Steed said it’s important to educate one another on how the Great Salt Lake benefits them as a society. One can learn about lake effect snow that provides better snowpack,  the variety of ecosystem benefits that come off the lake and the fact that it covers up toxic elements on the lake bed and prevents them from blowing around.

“I think all of those things have helped people understand that if we lose the lake, we really do lose something very important to us,” Steed said. 

Losing the lake is a real possibility. Belmont said if trends over the last few years continue, the lake could be lost within five years. He said people should plan for the worst case scenarios and stay away from wishful thinking. 

“I have been really surprised with how many people are at least aware of the problem, but they don’t usually understand the real scope and urgency of it,” Belmont said.

He said it’s important for individuals to email and call their representatives to voice concerns because legislators need to be held accountable. 

“If representatives are getting lots of emails from people saying, ‘I want you to support this legislation,’  or ‘I’m just concerned about the Great Salt Lake and I need you to be keeping your eye on this and doing the right things,’ you don’t have to know all the policy to at least tell them that it’s a concern to you and you want them to solve the problem,” Belmont said. 

There are also opportunities for individuals to get involved in the community. According to their website, The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit that works to halt climate change and biodiversity loss. Individuals can donate to The Nature Conservancy, volunteer with them, attend live or virtual events and learn about ways to lower their own carbon footprint. 

Another way for locals to get involved is through donating and volunteering with Friends of Great Salt Lake. According to their website, the mission of Friends of Great Salt Lake is to increase public awareness and appreciation of the lake through research, education, the arts and advocacy. The organization sponsors a variety of programs and activities to help achieve their mission. 

“Even if you’re not a biologist, chemist, hydrologist, or anyone who is involved in this from a scientific standpoint, you’re a person with a voice, and the more voices that can be heard, the better our solution is going to be,” Baxter said.