Abstract

The recent rise in the level of the Great Salt Lake of approximately 12 feet in five years has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damages. As the water level continued to rise there was a general demand for the State to do something. This led to a series of investigations in an attempt to find a solution to the problem.

The first alternative was to breach the Southern Pacific Railroad causeway, which has resulted in almost equalizing the water levels of the north and south arms of the lake. Nevertheless, the lake continued to rise. Studies were then undertaken to determine if storage of Bear River water would have significant effects on the lake flooding problems. Those studies, plus recent events, indicate that water storage projects would have had only minimal effects. Another concept considered diverting the Bear River near Soda Springs, Idaho, to reduce the flow into the Great Salt Lake. However, political and environmental aspects and the high cost made the proposal unworkable.

The next approach was a study of several protective diking possibilities, This too was found to be unfeasible because of numerous problems and high cost. Because all of the other proposals were either too costly, too time consuming to implement, and/or technically unfeasible, it became obvious that pumping the water to the west desert probably was the best means to lower the lake in a timely and relatively cost-effective manner. After major changes in the original proposed pumping plan, the cost of the project was reduced from a projected $90 million to $60 million. The project is now operating after only one year from the date that it was authorized by the legislature. Although controversial, the project is operating as designed and is effectively lowering the lake’s water level.