The Great Salt Lake is shrinking due to a megadrought, mirroring historical patterns of water scarcity experienced by ancient inhabitants. While human-caused climate change exacerbates the issue, the focus now shifts towards reducing water consumption in development, industry, and agriculture to mitigate the lake's decline and protect human health.
It’s not all bad news: The combined forces of Utahns over the last few years demonstrates commitment and progress.drove early inhabitants of Utah from their homes, leaving dwellings, artwork and other incredible artifacts as the Ancestral Puebloans moved to find water., highlighted by a shrinking Great Salt Lake . A dry lakebed will not only result in the loss of a critical ecosystem on the western flyway, but also a valley filled with dust.
Like the ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and Rio Grande Puebloans, we cannot control the cyclical megadrought. When researchers study ancient tree-rings and evidence of soil moisture, a reoccurring pattern suggests these lengthy dry periods occur naturally.
But it’s not all bad news: The combined forces of Utahns over the past few years demonstrates commitment and progress. Utah has recently passed bills to support the ecosystem, including limiting, allowing farmers to lease their water rights for the lake and installing meters in rural communities, all of which could benefit Great Salt Lake and the humans that live in the northern Utah cities and towns.
The problem is the timeline and the dire scenario we face. A shallow lake subjected to the megadrought-climate-change combo means we have to work extra hard on creating more inflows to Great Salt Lake, and we have to move quickly. The next decade promises to be dry and warm, and we will have to be courageous stewards of the lake to create the inflows of water needed to sustain it.
Bonnie K. Baxter, Ph.D., is a professor of biology and Director of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University.is a professor of biology and Director of Great Salt Lake Institute at Westminster University. She has published dozens of scientific articles on the lake’s extreme biology, the first academic book on the biology of Great Salt Lake and the first children’s book about this lake.
Great Salt Lake Megadrought Climate Change Water Conservation Ecosystem
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