What happened to the Great Salt Lake this year?
Focused funding, donations of water, new laws and wetlands protection are highlights from 2024
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- A bird flies over the Great Salt Lake State Park in Magna on Saturday, June 15, 2024.
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- Great Salt Lake Collaborative
Editor’s note: This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake.
The levels of the Great Salt Lake may be in decline, but the year 2024 saw a tremendous uptick in efforts to help the world’s eighth largest saline lake, a key part of Utah’s cultural identity and an economic driver for Utah.
With the industry it supports, the visitation it attracts and its ecological contributions, the lake delivers $1.9 billion to Utah’s economy annually and supports more than 7,000 jobs. It is part of the Pacific Flyway, supporting millions of birds as they make their migratory journey and need a rest stop for nesting and feeding. Bird watching attracts visitors from all over the world.
“In 2024 we saw another big snow year but the water year ended up average,” said Tim Davis, deputy Great Salt Lake commissioner in a recent report. “We saw the lake both rise and fall 3 feet. At the same time, the state made new investments. We need to be able to get the lake back to a healthy level. 2024 set the stage to make better water management decisions for the future.”
Here are some key takeaways on some of the notable actions take to help boost the survival of the lake.
Donations/leasing of water for the lake
So far, 70,000 acre-feet of water has been designated for the lake, with organizations like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stepping up, as well as the Jordan Valley and Weber Basin Water conservancy districts and Kennecott. Farmers also stepped up with temporary leases designed to bolster the lake.
Compass Minerals agreed to a reduction of 200,000 acre-feet of water that it could have tapped for growth in the future. If the lake dips to its 2022 levels, Compass agreed to give up its water use entirely.
Money talks
The lake has been the beneficiary of both state and federal funding. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation agreed to spend $50 million; $3 million is headed to the U.S. Geological Survey, $5.4 million was designated by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. Utah lawmakers also agreed to spend close to $22 million to support infrastructure projects designed specifically to help the lake. There was $5 million allocated to the Great Salt Lake Commissioner’s Office to lease water from Ogden to be delivered to the lake via the Willard Spur.
Utah legislative action
Lawmakers invoked more stringent regulations on mineral extraction industries that operate on the lake and enacted financial incentives via voluntary agreements on use of water tied to the lake. The state Legislature enshrined a water elevation “floor” of 4,190 feet, which means if it falls below that level a number of actions kick in.
In addition, lawmakers made technical changes to the state’s popular agricultural water optimization program, which helps farmers to become more efficient with how they use water. Those efficiencies can help more water make it to the lake. The legislative body enacted a law that limits the use of non-functional turf on government owned buildings. They also streamlined and made more clear the water right change applications. The Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act, sponsored by then-Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, passed and passed the Senate Tuesday.
Understanding the mysteries of the lake
Multiple studies were authorized and plans finalized. That includes the Division of Water Resources’ Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan, a basin-wide modeling tool to inform future water decisions, and a water measurement and infrastructure gap analysis conducted by the Division of Water Rights and Utah State University to measure water to help determine how to better improve accountability of water deliveries and diversions that could help the Great Salt Lake. The GSL Strike Team also released the Great Salt Lake Data and Insights Summary.
The Antelope Island State Park Visitors Center
Officials broke ground on a state-of-the-art visitors center in July. The 27,000 square foot complex will have more restrooms, an expanded gift shop and a large format theater that will feature the documentary “The Secrets of the Great Salt Lake.” The theater will seat 200 people. In addition to funding from the state Legislature, the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation donated $2.2 million for the learning center, slated to open next year. In 2023, more than 900,000 visitors went to the park, which has been described as the “crown jewel” of state parks.
