Is the shrinking Great Salt Lake affecting Box Elder County?

Images courtesy of NASA.

TREMONTON – The Great Salt Lake is shrinking. It continues to be one of the most visited locations in the Beehive State but as the shoreline shrinks people coming to see the biggest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere may drop off.

The Great Salt Lake’s northern shore lies in Box Elder County.

Michael Sanchez, a spokesman for the Utah Division of Water Resources, said the Great Salt Lake continues to decline.

“Currently, the average daily surface elevation is 4,189,” he said. ”It dropped past the previous record low (4,190.2) on July 3 and will likely continue to decline until mid-October.”

The lake contributes an estimated $1.5 billion to Utah’s economy because of recreational opportunities, brine shrimp, salt and magnesium harvesting.

The wildlife is also affected by the lake getting smaller.

Jim Leeuwen, a biologist for Department of Wildlife Resources, works for the Great Salt Lake Ecosystems Program managing the brine shrimp harvest on the lake. His team not only monitors the brine shrimp but also researches and observes bird populations.

“The current salinity is at about 18 percent. If it gets higher it could negatively affect the brine shrimp,” Leeuwen said. “We are in the middle of crunch time.”

If the lake gets too salty it that could affect all the living organisms, including the brine fly and about eight to ten million birds.

“Migratory birds use the Great Salt Lake as a stop-over point on their way to Antarctica and South America,” he said. “The migratory and resident birds feed on both the brine flies and their larvae.”

Since 1985, the lake levels were 4,209.7 feet above sea level because of several years of higher-than-normal precipitation. From that time on the lake began to shrink.

Scientists blame the disappearing lake on global warming and Utah’s exploding population.

Tremonton resident and Chair of the Utah Senate Natural Resource, Agriculture and Environment Committee Scott Sandal said people want to live in and enjoy Utah, but it is taking its toll on the state’s water.

He said he doesn’t see the shrinking lake having much effect on the Box Elder County economy. A lot has been said about the dust from the lakebed carrying toxic chemicals into the air and blowing into populated areas.

“The lakebed tends to crust over so there isn’t a lot of dust that blows out of it,” Sandall said. “I’m not personally seeing Box Elder County getting dust from the lake at this point.”

He wanted to to commend the people of Utah for their conservation efforts. He went on to say the residents have stepped up and are doing a great job, but we need to educate future generations on how to conserve this precious resource.

“There are still steps we can take to archive more water savings,” he said. “We all enjoy Utah and what it offers, and people want to live and be here, but the drought has made us hyper-sensitive on how our water is used.”

For decades, there has been an abundance of water and other resources in Utah and now the state is focusing on residents conserving or not wasting water.

“I went on trade mission to Dubai and Israel and their population is hyper aware of water and they use it sparingly,” Sandall said. “I don’t know if we need to get that way, but we do need to change our mind set.”

There are so many people here now and as the state continues to grow there is going to be more pressure on our precious water.

“The Great Salt Lake is part of the ecosystem that benefits the Wasatch Front and the communities around it,” Sandall said. “We are more sensitive to what is left behind as the lake shrinks, we expose ourselves to harmful dust and we don’t want what is going happen to the ag trades if it continues to dry up.”

As the drought continues, the question is can we maintain a healthy ag industry?

“Now is the time to think water optimization,” Sandall said. “We have 50/50 match for producers who want to switch to a more water-efficient way of farming crops.”

The legislature hopes those efforts to curb water use are a big way to divert the flow from crop farms to the remaining part to rivers that eventually goes to the lake.

“As we see the next million people move in from out of state, we need to be ready to somehow use less water on our lawns, use low flow toilets and other appliances.”

If the states moves water away from the Ag sector as the population grows, they will need to move water to the municipal and industrial sector.

“Overall, we need to strike a balance between growth and lifestyle that includes Ag and greenspace,” he said. “It’s going to be lot of work and it’s going to take everyone committing to take care of the water.”

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2 Comments

  • skeetr October 12, 2022 at 3:08 pm Reply

    its effecting everything. just like the rest of our lack of empathy or compassion for the planet. why dont you want to conserve that, “conservatives”?

    the glorious thing is we wont suddenly care until its a bit too late

    these are the people that are anti new-normal. well, welcome to hell as the new normal soon enough

    • Ttunac October 13, 2022 at 1:50 pm Reply

      Skeetr, I’m glad glad you have internet access in your eco-friendly turd hut. Google ‘Lake Bonneville’.

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