On my way out of town for a recent business trip, I noticed a strange phenomenon. The valley looked like it was in the middle of an inversion, yet the air quality indicators all looked normal. It wasn’t until I boarded my flight that I saw what was going on: a stream of dust from the Great Salt Lake being blown into the Salt Lake Valley. I later found out this dust storm was the first ever recorded in the month of January.
Currently, more than 1,000 square miles of the Great Salt Lake’s lakebed is exposed. More than 10,000 years of rock weathering and a century of pollution have concentrated a cocktail of heavy metals and harmful chemicals that are swept up by the wind and into our communities. As the Great Salt Lake continues to recede, a threat to our communities’ health — my children’s health — emerges from the exposed lakebed.
Up until September 2024, the Great Salt Lake only had four dust (PM10) monitors — and none were within 10 miles of the lake. It now has six monitors.
In contrast, an extensive network of dust monitors near California’s dried-up Owens Lake have identified the dustiest areas of the lakebed and the most effective dust mitigation techniques.
Still, Los Angeles has spent more than $2.5 billion on dust mitigation efforts for its desiccated saline lake, and the price tag would have easily doubled without data from its dust monitoring network.
The limited research on Great Salt Lake dust has identified the eastern shore of the lake — adjacent to Utah’s most populous areas — as the most significant sources of dust. Soil sampling from the lakebed has revealed high concentrations of carcinogenic elements.
But critical questions remain: How deeply are these storms infiltrating our communities? Which communities face the greatest exposure? How far do these dust clouds carry hazardous particles, and once airborne, do heavy metals linger in the atmosphere or settle before reaching the heart of the city?
Fortunately, Utah lawmakers have a critical window of opportunity to begin addressing this problem before it becomes unmanageable, and even irreversible.
Over the coming weeks, the State Legislature will decide whether to approve a $651,000 ongoing funding request to install more dust monitors and conduct dust analysis on the Great Salt Lake.
As a father of twins, hoping to raise my kids in the state I love, decisions regarding my future in this state hinge on understanding and addressing Great Salt Lake dust storms.
Without rigorous monitoring and decisive intervention, state leaders are gambling with our public health, allowing hazardous substances to infiltrate our air unchecked. We risk exposing countless families to respiratory illnesses, long-term health complications and environmental degradation on an unimaginable scale.
And, we don’t have to guess how this will end — we can look to other drying saline lakes around the for a glimpse into Northern Utah’s future.
Owens Lake became the single largest source of carcinogenic dust in the U.S., after it dried up in the early 20th century. In Uzbekistan, the collapse of the Aral Sea and the ensuing dust storms has left nearby residents struggling with some of the worst respiratory conditions in the world. In California, children living near the shrinking Salton Sea experience asthma rates as high as 22% — well above the state average — along with bloody noses, pulmonary inflammation and heightened risks of severe conditions like lung infections and even cancer.
These aren’t isolated incidents — they are a blueprint for a drying saline lake.
Ultimately, the solution to address Great Salt Lake dust storms is simple: Get more water to the lake and maintain it at a healthy level, which covers most dust hot spots around the lake. But, this will take time, commitment and resources.
Until then, the state must be prepared to suppress the dust, equip communities with the information they need to avoid being impacted and better understand the potential consequences of increased dust events from a drying Great Salt Lake.
Approving funding this legislative session to install more monitors is a sensible and essential next step in the right direction.