Utah’s Great Salt Lake will disappear within five years if left alone as an ongoing megadrought and failure to replenish it has left water levels plummeting by 73 percent. A coalition of dozens of scientists has called on the state to enact ’emergency measures’ to save the Great Salt Lake, warning that unless it sees a ‘dramatic increase’ in inflow within a year, the lake will be gone by 2028.
In their report calling for a rescue, the scientists say the lake’s ‘disappearance could cause immense damage to Utah’s public health, environment, and economy. ‘The choices we make over the next few months will affect our state and ecosystems throughout the West for decades to come.’
The dire warning comes after the driest summer on record caused water levels in the lake to hit historic lows amid a megadrought devastating the West. According to the report, the Great Salt Lake has lost 73 percent of its water, with the lake now 19 feet below its average level as 60 percent of the lakebed lies exposed.
Because the lake is shallow — about 35 feet at its deepest — less water quickly translates to receding shorelines. More dry lakebeds getting exposed could also send arsenic-laced dust into air breathed by millions. Breathing in high levels of arsenic can cause a sore throat, irritated lungs, arsenic poisoning, or even death, according to the American Cancer Society.
The scientists said the lake will need an additional 1 million acre-feet of water, or about 326,000 gallons, per year to reverse the slump. To expedite the rescue, the researchers are calling on Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to declare a state of emergency.
They are also urging lawmakers to implement an emergency water conservation measure. The scientists warned that if the drought affecting the West persists, which experts say it will, saving the lake would require water-use cuts of up to 50 percent in the Great Salt Lake watershed area. (SOURCE)
