A bill could improve Utah Lake and get more water into Great Salt Lake

SALT LAKE CITY  — State lawmakers are considering a bill that seeks to improve Utah Lake and get more water into the Great Salt Lake.

SB 270 is a different approach to getting more water into Great Salt Lake.

Justin D. Jones, Executive Director of the Herbert Institute at Utah Valley University said the bill forms a commission with a common goal.

“To study Utah Lake (and) pull all the research that has already been done,” he said. “And, ultimately, to send more water from Utah Lake down the Jordan River to the Great Salt Lake.”

Bill sponsor Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said the goal is to improve the clarity and quality of water in the Great Salt Lake.

SB270 would also help remove invasive plant and animal species from Utah Lake.

Bramble said all interested parties are invited to participate in the study. This includes those who may be against the idea.

“(If) they want to put their thumb on the scale to either move in one direction or another,” he said. “Or to prohibit certain ideas before the study’s even begun.”

Additionally, Bramble said their goal is to eliminate any bias from within the study.

“To have whatever the study recommendations are, or an action plan, (we’ll) make sure that they’re environmentally sound and driven by science,” he said. 

If the bill passes, the study must be complete by November 2025.

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