Donald Trump proposed a $1 billion federal program for the Great Salt Lake. The plan, included in the White House budget proposal, aims to increase water inflow to the lake, restore the ecosystem, and combat toxins in the lakebed.
The lake, whose water level has been dropping for years in Utah, hit a record low in November 2022. Dust rising from the exposed lakebed at that time affected the Salt Lake Valley for days; the dust also contained pollutants left over from mining and smelting activities.
Water loss and ecological risk
Although the lake's water level naturally varies with the seasons, the overall trend over roughly the last 90 years has been downward. Scientists point to the impact of hotter summers and drier winters in this decline, but the main pressure is stated to come from water diversions in the upper basin.
About two-thirds of the water from the three freshwater rivers that feed the lake is diverted for other uses through dams and canals built along their routes. More than 70 percent of these diversions are for agriculture, and about 80 percent of that water goes specifically to alfalfa production, used mainly as animal feed.
Scientists warned in January 2023 that if current conditions persist, the lake risks disappearing within five years. The loss of the lake would pose a major threat to invertebrates and birds in the surrounding ecosystem and could also increase respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in the region due to the fine dust from the lakebed.
Trump's intervention and the budget proposal
In a post on February 21, Trump described the lake as an "environmental hazard" and said it needed to be addressed urgently. In the same message, he stated he had discussed the issue with Utah Governor Spencer Cox, that the process would be finalized, and used the phrase "make the lake great again."
The program in the budget proposal is planned to be led by the Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The package includes items such as improving water flow to the lake, restoring wetlands and habitat, removing invasive species, and reducing toxins in the lakebed.
Utah's options on the table
The Utah administration has put forward various options for how the funds will be used. These include $300 million for farmers to sell or lease their water rights, $244 million for water conservation programs in cities, $100 million for ecosystem restoration, and $190 million for large engineering solutions.
Paying farmers in exchange for their water rights stands out as the most critical pillar of the plan. If the payments are at a level similar to the lease rates applied in the Colorado River basin last year, $300 million could be enough to leave approximately 800,000 acre-feet of water in the lake, though this would only cover one year's inflow.
To preserve the lake, this would need to be repeated every year, or water rights would need to be purchased rather than leased. Still, the idea of shifting water from agricultural use to natural use is seen as a significant break in the approach to the Great Salt Lake.
The basin's history and today's alarm
Throughout the 20th century, grand engineering dreams were mostly envisioned for the lake. State planners and private companies repeatedly brought up projects like damming off half the lake to turn it into a freshwater reservoir; however, this approach also reflected a mindset that saw the lake as a resource to be opened up for economic gain rather than a sensitive ecosystem to be protected.
The current state of alarm around the lake is now based less on the debate of how to use it more efficiently and more on the question of how to stop its disappearance. For the Ute, Paiute, and Shoshone peoples, the lake and the waters that feed it were an integral part of life and religious practice long before Mormon settlers arrived in the region.
After the settlers arrived, the lake was quickly used for both salt extraction and irrigation. Throughout the region's history, the redirection of water, the expansion of agriculture, and the growth of cities have made the lake's current delicate balance even more fragile.
