The shoreline of the Great Salt Lake is seen in this March 2022 photo. (Photo Credit: USU/Taylor Emerson)
SALT LAKE CITY – Determined not to waste a drop of what promises to be a record snowmelt this year, Gov. Spencer Cox has ordered state officials to raise the height of berms in the Great Salt Lake.
“The Great Salt Lake is crucial to our environment, ecology and economy,” Cox said after singing the order. “We must do everything we can to protect it.”
Executive Order 2023-02 was signed Feb. 3, directing the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to raise the Great Salt Lake causeway berm by five feet.
The Union Pacific Railroad Causeway bisects the Great Salt Lake into what is referred to as the North and South Arms.
“We’ve been blessed with significant snowpack so far this winter,” the governor explained. “This executive order will allow the state to move quickly to increase the lake level in the South Arm by capturing the spring runoff.
“We don’t want to miss this opportunity to safeguard the lake.”
Cox’s order came in the closing hours of what GOP leaders had proclaimed would be “Water Week” at the Utah Legislature.
In its first week, the general session of the 2023 legislature had produced controversial new laws concerning healthcare for transgender youth and public education funding.
The following week yielded eight bills representing base budgets for the state government.
In what was supposed to be “Water Week” from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, however, lawmakers’ proposals for far-reaching solutions to Utah’s ongoing water crisis all became bogged down in committee hearings.
The Great Salt Lake is owned and managed by the state of Utah as sovereign land held in trust for the public. Due to the ongoing drought through the West, the lake fell to a historically low surface level of 4,188 feet in November of 2022.
The Great Salt Lake’s reduced levels are causing a significant increase in its salinity, particularly in its southern arm, threatening the lake’s ecosystem.
That increased salinity impacts the lake’s habitat for brine shrimp.
According to state officials, brine shrimp are a valuable food source for 10 million migratory birds that travel through Utah each year. The annual brine shrimp harvest also plays a role in the state’s economy.
So balancing the salinity in the South Arm of the lake is critical now, according to Kim Wells, a spokesperson for the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
To affect that balancing, Cox’s order directs the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to increase the berm height from its current 4,187 feet to 4,192 feet.
Executive Order 2023-02 takes effect immediately and State officials predict that the height increase will be accomplished prior to the end of the month.
The executive order also directs the Utah Department of Natural Resources and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to prepare a management plan to guide future adjustments to the lake berm’s height.