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.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials have already poured tens of millions of dollars toward Great Salt Lake preservation efforts in recent years, but the lake — which hit an all-time low in 2022 — is about to get a boost from the federal government.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton announced Monday that the federal agency will direct $50 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds toward Great Salt Lake-related conservation projects. Bureau officials said the funding will be matched by $50 million from Utah.
“This funding will go to our partners in the state to enhance ongoing agricultural and municipal conservation efforts in the Great Salt Lake Basin,” she said. “This investment will help slow the decline of a very valuable resource that is the Great Salt Lake.”
Joel Ferry, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said the additional $50 million is based on money already directed to the lake from the Utah Legislature or money that will go toward lake projects. Utah dedicated $40 million toward water leasing efforts in 2022, leading to the creation of the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust.
Combined, the federal and state money is expected to be spent on water rights purchases and split-season leases that direct more water to the lake, as well as projects that improve water flow into the lake.
“The Great Salt Lake is something that matters to Utah, and this is a big step in the right direction,” Ferry said during an event at the Utah Capitol on Monday.
Utah officials said the announcement marks what is believed to be the biggest federal investment in the Great Salt Lake. It also follows a smaller grant from the Bureau of Reclamation toward the lake.
The U.S. Geological Survey showcased one of its new 13 stream gauges installed near the Great Salt Lake during an event last month. The agency received $3 million from the bureau — through a different grant — to add the gauges along with new buoys. Combined, the gear is expected to help experts better track water flow into the lake and summertime evaporation.
Touton, who came to Utah to make the announcement and tour the lake with state officials, said the bureau opted to direct the funds to the state because of how quickly the money can be used toward conservation efforts. The Office of the Great Salt Lake reported last month that it secured nearly 70,000 acre-feet in water donations and purchases.
It’s still negotiating with water users to acquire more water for the lake, while also working with various state agencies on conservation projects like phragmites removal. The federal funding provides a boost to both of those efforts.
“It’s ready to go,” Touton said. “We’re ready to put this funding out there, and it’ll immediately make an impact on the ecosystem and certainly the community around the Great Salt Lake.”
This story will be updated.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
