The Great Salt Lake Is Dying, But These Scientists Have a Solution

An alarming study published last month Environmental Challenges Claims that about two-thirds of the Great Salt Lake’s shrinking is attributable to human use of river water that would otherwise have replenished the lake.

Utah’s Great Salt Lake is a remnant of a once-massive lake that occupied the same space during the Ice Age. The lake level has been fluctuating ever since measurement It began in 1847, but is about 75 miles (120 km) long by 35 miles (56 km) wide with a maximum depth of 33 feet (10 m). Great Salt Lake water level hit record low In 2021, that was take over next year

According to a recent paper, about 62% of the river water that would have otherwise replenished the lake has been used for “anthropogenic uses” instead. The research team found that agricultural use accounts for 71% of human-driven degradation; Furthermore, about 80% of agricultural water is used for crops for only one million livestock.

“The study highlights the alarming role of water consumption to feed livestock in driving the lake’s rapid erosion,” said William Ripple, an Oregon State University ecologist and one of the university’s co-authors. release.

The lake is no stranger to change; A Utah State University Report indicating that the lake’s water level has declined since the mid-19th century. According to the United States Geological Survey Utah Water Science Center According to the report, the bisection of the lake by a railroad causeway in 1959 significantly changed the salinity levels of the newly created half of the lake, and since the reservoir has no outlet rivers or streams, its water level changes dramatically due to evaporation or substantial rainfall.

“Abnormally large snowmelt flows in the 1980s and 1990s temporarily obscured the long-term decline in lake levels, and the lake actually reached its highest level in more than a century in 1987,” Ripple said. “But since then it has decreased by an average of about 4 inches per year.”

The researchers proposed a goal of reducing anthropogenic river water use in the region by 35% to begin refilling the lake, as well as a detailed breakdown of specific reductions in livestock feed production.

“We found that the most robust solutions would include a 61% reduction in alfalfa production with a 26-55% reduction in grass hay production,” the team wrote, “resulting in a reduction in agricultural revenue of $97 million per year, or 0.04% of state GDP.” The team added. That Utah residents can be compensated for their loss of revenue is an easier plan to propose on paper than to sell people as a reality, but it’s Great Salt A path towards lake restoration.

The lake directly supports 9,000 jobs and $2.5 billion in economic productivity, primarily from mining, recreation and brine shrimp fishing, the group added. Exposed saline lakebeds (as the water level of the Great Salt Lake continues to decline) are also associated with dust that can pose health risks due to effects on the human respiratory system.

For now, the average level and volume of the Great Salt Lake continues to decline. But the team’s research reveals a specific pain point and suggests ways to reduce pressure on the great—but shrinking—water body.