Water levels in Great Salt Lake approach record low

By Morgan Jacobsen, Deseret News

Published: Fri, Aug. 22, 2014, 8:40 p.m. MDT



(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)


Lately, it's been a common occurrence.







But every bit of moisture helps, Shearer said.


Human impacts







Other forms of recreation indirectly depend on the lake. Storms that generate on the lake pick up moisture and drop it in the mountains, producing "light, fluffy powder" for ski slopes, Dolling said. Lower water levels on the lake could mean less snow pack.

Shearer calls the lake "a recycler of water."

"It puts water back up in the mountains during the winter, and during the summer, that water comes back down here," he said.

As the shoreline recedes, more of the fine-sediment soil beneath is exposed to the wind, causing dust storms and contributing to hazy conditions.

"There's some air quality issues that come with lower lake elevations that are beyond anybody's control," Dolling said. "It's just another issue, and if the lake were to ever go dry, that would be very unfortunate."

Wildlife impacts

In the northwest corner of the Great Salt Lake, Gunnison Island contains the fourth-largest pelican rookery, or breeding colony, in the U.S., according to Dolling.

Gunnison Island and others that shelter ground nesters from predators are becoming more at risk with every foot that water levels go down, Dolling said.

"Under really low water conditions, (Gunnison Island) could become a peninsula to the mainland, and that would allow for predators to enter the island and disrupt that colony," Dolling said.

The water elevation at which the island would connect to the mainland is unclear and may be far off. But such has already occurred for Antelope Island, where pronghorn antelope, mule deer and bison have left and established populations elsewhere, according to Dolling.

"Currently, it's not posing much of a problem," he said. "But if it were to really start to grow and expand, we might see increased wildlife-vehicle collisions on I-80. It's an area that's primarily private land, so it would be tough to get hunters in to help control the population."

The lake could become less of a haven for migratory waterfowl, like ducks, geese and swans, as they travel along the Pacific Flyway.

"Waterfowl typically spend more time on the lake when the lake is at normal elevations because there's more surface area," Davis said. "When it's under lower elevations, the birds don't stay in the system as long as they normally would."

Constant change

The 167 years of documentation on the Great Salt Lake reveal that water levels never cease to fluctuate. Each year, the lake typically rises 2 feet in the spring and evaporates 2 feet over the course of the summer and fall.

Even in times of drought, water elevations can increase dramatically. In 2010, officials observed water levels approaching 1963's record, similar to this year. But that winter, record snow pack reversed the trend, causing water levels in the lake to rise 5 feet, according to Davis.

Shearer says the lake's elevation is consistently higher when storm tracks run through the Wasatch Front instead of veering into Colorado or Arizona.

As conditions vary from year to year over, decade to decade, wildlife has largely adapted to living in an ever-changing environment in and around the lake, according to Dolling.

"The species that come through and utilize the Great Salt Lake have lived for eons with dynamic, fluctuating water levels," he said. "The wildlife have evolved with this ever-moving shoreline, and that dynamic is pretty valuable to wildlife because it allows for the leading edge of the lake to become a productive zone. … It creates a real mecca of invertebrate life that the birds can feed on."

Ever-changing ecosystems like the Great Salt Lake are largely resilient to permanent damage and ecological collapse, according to Shearer.

"You look at the brine shrimp. … The fact that you can take the eggs, the cysts, out of water and let them dry for two or three years and throw them back in the water and they'll hatch, it tells you how resilient Great Salt Lake is. … It's a desert out in the middle of a desert, and yet life thrives there."

Email: mjacobsen@deseretnews.com, Twitter: MorganEJacobsen

1. Ranch Hand
Bountiful, UT,
Aug. 22, 2014

So the lake will soon be at it's recorded low of 4914 feet? Better call Salt Lake International and let them know since the airport elevation, if I recall correctly, is only 4226 feet above sea level.

2. Henderson
Orem, UT,
Aug. 23, 2014

This should be extremely concerning.


Google "Aral Sea Environmental Disaster." There's a short 9 min long video from national geographic for you to watch.

Want to know what Kennecott dumped into the lake for all these years? Soon we'll find out!

3. I'll call it
Ogden, UT,
Aug. 23, 2014

“… an elevation of 4,914 feet…”

That's between the pre-historic Bonneville and Provo levels. You can see the old shorelines on the surrounding mountains.

Historic high, ca AD 1700, 4,217 feet

Historic average since AD 1851, 4,202 feet

Historic low since AD 1963, 4,191 feet

Lake Bonneville level, 5,090 feet, 16,000 - 14,500 years ago

Provo level, 4,740 feet, 14,500 - 13,500 years ago

Stansbury level, 4,500 feet, 23,00 - 20,000 years ago

4. Lolly
Lehi, UT,
Aug. 23, 2014

I am concerned about the airport as mentioned by "Ranch Hand." It is critical that we resolve that problem. I am not sure what the ramifications will be if planes are having to land and take off at lower and lower elevation.

As far as the Great Salt Lake is concerned, I would think it would be an opportunity to replace the salt water with fresh water as the water level drops. We should get Morton Salt to remove the salt that has accumulated while the lake is low. Then get the Provo company that "scrubs" the salt water to remove the residual salt from the water and it would become a beautiful clear water lake. Not all things are bad.

5. Cleetorn
Fuaamotu, Tonga,
Aug. 23, 2014

At 4,914 feet, the lake level would not only cover the entire Wasatch Front but would bring back Lake Bonneville in all it's watery glory flooding about 25% of the state.