The Great Salt Lake Could Be Gone By 2028

A research paper released in 2023 from Brigham Young said the Great Salt Lake “is on track to disappear” in five years. The science behind the 34-page research document was considered solid. Of course, mountains or heavy rains could change the trajectory. None of those has happened. 

The Washington Post reported last week that the Great Salt Lake was drying up so rapidly that the dry area it has left is full of earth that contains dangerous chemicals. “That dust is spreading miles to areas where it endangers humans. Dozens of dust events like this, carrying harmful heavy metals and chemicals, probably happen each year across the 120-square-mile playa once covered by the Great Salt Lake, before water diversions, drought and heat caused it to shrink to record lows “ The dust will be a larger problem as the lake disappears.

BYU Study

The Great Salt Lake problem is not just drought according to the BYU study. “Excessive water use” by humans is another factor. It is a source of fertilizer and brine shrimp. There is no regulation to slow these uses. 

The BYU analyst says that only government action by the governor and state legislature could help reverse the shrinkage. There are several ways in which the federal government could intervene. 

The BYU research and its warnings are two years old. Nothing has happened.