Great Salt Lake levels have peaked for the year, expected to drop this summer

SALT LAKE CITY— According to water managers, the Great Salt Lake is done gaining water for the year. 

Great Salt Lake Deputy Commissioner Tim Davis told media members Wednesday the lake recently peaked at about 4,195 feet above sea level. That’s the highest the lake’s been since the spring of 2017.

The current lake level is still three feet shy of the target level of 4,198. According to Davis, that is where the lake’s healthy level range begins. 

While there is still for improvement in the Great Salt Lake water levels, it sits about six-and-a-half feet higher than in late 2022. At the time, its all-time lowest level was registered. 

The lake’s south arm rose about three feet, thanks to a strong winter and Spring runoff. However, Davis warned the lake’s levels drop an average of two feet every summer. That means, some of that new water will soon disappear.

The need to conserve

Despite currently high levels in Utah’s reservoirs and significant improvement at the Great Salt Lake, Davis said people along the Wasatch Front need to continue to save water. 

Related: Despite strong state averages, Yuba Reservoir is not even half full

“It’s going to take everyone conserving water, dedicating it to the lake and delivering it to the lake every year…to get the lake to a healthy level,” Davis said. “It can’t just be a dry-year solution.”

Davis spoke of ways people can help save water during the summer. They included:

• Watering lawns only when necessary
• Switching to water-wise landscaping
• Optimizing the use of irrigation water

Additionally, Davis said that a key focus for his office is to make sure saved water ends up in the Great Salt Lake. 

“Just conserving water for conservation’s sake is not enough, we’ve really got to take those extra steps,” Davis said.

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