SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials have already poured tens of millions of dollars toward Great Salt Lake preservation efforts in recent years, but the lake — which hit an all-time low in 2022 — is about to get a boost from the federal government.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton announced Monday that the federal agency will direct $50 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds toward Great Salt Lake-related conservation projects. Funding will be matched by $50 million from Utah, according to the bureau.

“This funding will go to our partners in the state to enhance ongoing agricultural and municipal conservation efforts in the Great Salt Lake Basin,” she said. “This investment will help slow the decline of a very valuable resource that is the Great Salt Lake.”

The additional $50 million from the state consists of money either already directed to the lake from the Utah Legislature or money that will go toward lake projects, said Joel Ferry, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Utah dedicated $40 million toward water leasing efforts in 2022, leading to the creation of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust.

Combined, the federal and state money is expected to be spent on a mix of uses, including permanent water rights purchases and split-season leases, where farmers or ranchers use some water but send partial rights to the lake through a monetary agreement. Money will also be used on projects that improve water flow into the lake or the lake’s ecosystem.

Utah officials said the announcement marks what is believed to be the biggest federal investment in the Great Salt Lake.

“This a very important day for Utah,” Gov. Spencer Cox said during an event at the Utah Capitol on Monday. “It underscores the commitment that the state of Utah has to the Great Salt Lake, but also our federal partner’s commitment to the Great Salt Lake.”

A U.S. problem?

The Great Salt Lake’s decline is generally attributed to overconsumption of its tributaries and years of drought. Its decline to an all-time low two years ago opened up all sorts of environmental concerns tied to its dust, as well as concerns for the millions of waterfowl that rely on the lake, the mineral extraction industry and the brine shrimp economy.

While the lake’s economic value to Utah is estimated to be about $1.9 billion, Cox said he pleaded to federal officials that it’s more than just a Utah problem.

“It’s a regional problem — and it’s a United States problem,” he said. “We know that the impacts of the lake drying up will be far greater than just the greater Salt Lake area.”

Federal agencies seem to agree. Monday’s announcement follows a smaller grant from the Bureau of Reclamation toward the lake.

The U.S. Geological Survey showcased one of its new 13 stream gauges installed near the Great Salt Lake during an event last month. The agency received $3 million from the bureau — through a different grant — to add the gauges along with new buoys. Combined, the gear is expected to help experts better track water flow into the lake and summertime evaporation.

Touton, who came to Utah to make the announcement and tour the lake with state officials, said the bureau opted to direct the funds to the state because of how quickly the money can be used toward conservation efforts. The money comes from a specific portion of the Inflation Reduction Act that allocated $4 billion toward water conservation and ecosystem projects within water basins like the Great Salt Lake that have experienced long-term drought.