The Great Salt Lake is on President Donald Trump’s radar.
That is good news, indeed.
The president was right over the weekend when he issued a social media post that called the lake’s dwindling size “a real environmental problem.” Skeptics keep reminding Utahns that no saline lake in the world has been saved after it begins the downward spiral toward destruction.
But that can’t be the outcome here. Without the lake, the vast metropolitan Salt Lake City area would be in jeopardy. Toxic dust storms would fill the air. The loss of the lake’s ability to generate and intensify storms would exacerbate drought and threaten important water supplies. Several species of fowl would lose an important oasis while migrating across a desert.
Utah’s history is steeped in miraculous stories of overcoming incredible odds, from thwarting crop-eating crickets with heaven-sent flocks of sea gulls to establishing waterways and reservoirs that harnessed precious water supplies for agricultural and residential uses.
We are confident that more miracles await. Ultimately, the best solution is to experience more rain and snow, but climate change seems to have made a snow drought a recurring condition. Governments cannot legislate lake levels, but the power and resources of the federal government could help the lake survive in less-than-ideal conditions.
Utah lawmakers have already devoted considerable financial resources to the lake. Two bills are currently wending their way through the Legislature. One, HB410, would create a program making it easier for farmers to divert water to the lake. For some farmers in a dry state, this might present a challenge. The bill has passed the House and awaits a hearing in the Senate.
The other, HB348, would create a preservation program, a new fund, and a board tasked with streamlining processes and protecting leased water to ensure it gets to the lake.
It, too, has passed the House and is awaiting a Senate hearing.
A month ago, the Deseret News reported on a meeting of state and local leaders, convened by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, to discuss ways to help the lake. Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed told the group the lake needs about 800,000 acre-feet, or 261 billion gallons of water, to emerge from its crisis state.
One suggestion was to transport water to the lake from the Newfoundland Water Basin to the west, an area that accumulates up to 50,000 acre-feet of water annually.
Others talked about installing more dust monitors and using dust mitigation efforts to reduce the health risks associated with dust storms.
How can Washington help?
In Washington, Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis just succeeded in passing the Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act. According to Lee’s website, the bill expands the water conservation program of the Central Utah Project Completion Act to include all of the Great Salt Lake drainage basin.
“The legislation unlocks tens of millions of dollars in unexpended budget authority to be used for conservation efforts critical to restoring the lake’s declining water levels,” the website said.
Every bit helps, and they all do their part.
But the federal government has the resources to fund large-scale studies of pipeline or water transfers into the lake. It could establish regional watershed plans to better support conservation efforts.
Trump credited Utah Gov. Spencer Cox for bringing the lake’s problem to his attention. “We’re going to save the Great Salt Lake, you know that, right?” he said at a White House dinner.
Of course, it will take much more than a social media post and a dinner speech to save the Great Salt Lake. It will demand concerted lobbying efforts, political pressure and the kind of consistent, relentless attention that all crises demand.
The Great Salt Lake is at a crisis point. Make no mistake. Its future is entwined with the futures of millions who live nearby. Getting the attention of the president is another important step.