Pete HahnloserThe Bureau of Reclamation is allocating $50 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to support a water delivery program designed to maintain a sustainable and resilient water supply in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Utah has partnered with other entities to match the grant, bringing the total investment to $100 million.
The Great Salt Lake has shrunk to about one-third of its typical size. To address this crisis, the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner has implemented a strategic plan that outlines both immediate and long-term actions.
The funding will not only help secure additional water but also support the development of infrastructure aimed at improving water conservation.
The plan emphasizes:
- Collaborating with a diverse range of agencies and stakeholders while fostering strong public involvement in matters concerning the lake.
- Relying on the most reliable science and data, adapting strategies as new information emerges.
- Increasing water flow to the lake and ensuring a sustainable water supply while balancing competing priorities, such as human health, quality of life, ecosystem health and economic development.
- Promoting water conservation across municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors, including measuring water savings and directing conserved water to the lake.
- Safeguarding air and water quality.
“We recognize the local commitment to conservation of the Great Salt Lake and make this investment in an effort to slow the long-term decline of the water level,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said. “The impacts of drought to the area are evident, and we must work with the state and local community to conserve this important water body to stop negative impacts to the local environment and wildlife habitat, the agriculture ecosystem services, recreation and industry.”
The state says it is committed to working with partners throughout the basin to safeguard and sustain the lake and its surrounding ecosystem.
“We recognize restoring the lake to a healthy range will take years, and we very much appreciate the funding and ongoing support from the Bureau of Reclamation to help us meet that goal,” Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed said. “It’s going to take everyone participating in conserving, dedicating and delivering water to the lake every year.”
Utah’s water supply has improved after two years of above-average snowfall and statewide conservation efforts. The Great Salt Lake has risen 6.5 feet from its historic low in 2022, returning to its 2021 levels. However, significant efforts are still needed to ensure the lake’s long-term health.
Overall, the Inflation Reduction Act includes a total of $550 million for the Bureau of Reclamation to put toward domestic water supply projects. An additional $4 billion is being put toward water conservation and ecosystem initiatives in the Colorado River Basin and other regions, such as the Great Salt Lake, facing similar long-term drought conditions.
So far, the bureau has committed more than $3.2 billion for 222 drought mitigation projects, 39 domestic water supply projects, 7 emergency relief projects for tribal communities, and 4 canal improvement projects.
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