After losing over 2 feet, Great Salt Lake to get another boost from Utah Lake
Sep 17, 2024, 7:00 AM | Updated: Dec 21, 2024, 3:53 pm
Utah Lake as seen from the Utah Lake pump house in Saratoga Springs on Monday. About 10,000 acre-feet of water from the lake will be sent to the Great Salt Lake via the Jordan River over the next month. (Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
(Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
Editor’s note: This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Great Salt Lake has lost about 2 feet over the past few months, but it’s about to get another boost from its southern neighbor, Utah Lake.
The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy announced Monday that it plans to release about 10,000 acre-feet of water from Utah Lake over the next month, sending more water to the Great Salt Lake via the Jordan River, which connects the two bodies of water. It’s part of an agreement with the Great Salt Lake Enhancement Trust.
“It’s frankly remarkable,” said Marcelle Schoop, executive director of the trust, as she stood near floodgates controlling the Jordan River’s headwaters Monday morning. “We are all very excited.”
The forthcoming water deliveries follow similar releases from Utah Lake earlier this year; however, the previous deliveries aimed to prevent flooding during the spring snowmelt period while the new releases are specific water donations.
In fact, most of the water headed toward the Great Salt Lake is an extension of Utah’s 2023 snowpack.
Read the full story and more from Carter Williams on KSL.com.
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