Utah is special; however, climate change is altering that. I, along with others, want to ensure that it continues to survive and thrive.
Climate change is contributing to less snowfall, higher incidences of wildfires and a steady decline in air quality. We have been watching the frog placed in cold water with the heat turned on. The frog doesn’t realize that the water is heating up until it’s too late. Like the frog, there is no time to waste if the ecology of the Salt Lake Valley and the lives of its residents are to be saved.
Climate change for Utah is becoming a deadly cycle. The Great Salt Lake (GSL) water level has dropped dramatically. Snowfall is highly dependent upon evaporative moisture from the lake. As the water level drops, there is less evaporation, which leads to less snowpack. Population growth, leading to greater domestic water usage, results in less water draining into the Lake. The toxins in the lakebed, no longer submerged, will kill all life in and around the Lake, including Utahns.
Without intervention, the outcome is apocalyptic. There are solutions, and they start with raising the water level of the GSL. Ocean levels are rising, an impact of climate change. By diverting ocean water with similar salinity to a typical inland lake would be a massive undertaking, however, there may be a way….
Utah is home to a gas pipeline that runs from southwestern Wyoming to south central California. Conveniently, the Kern River Gas Transmission system and its valuable right-of-way, run through a gap between downtown Salt Lake City and the GSL.
Using the existing right-of-way to construct a water pipeline may provide the best solution to move water from the Pacific Ocean to the GSL and enable local and federal resource managers to maintain the level of the GSL for centuries to come.
This project will not need desalination, which is a very expensive process. Plastic piping of sufficient diameter and flexibility could easily be designed and manufactured to maximize flow and minimize corrosion. The ecologies of the ocean and GSL are different and there would need to be an assessment as to compatibility, but with most of the right of way issues out of the way, a pipeline could be up and running in less than three years.
We must protect our people and our resources by investing long term. There aren’t many alternatives given the confluence of factors; the most desperate is population growth. We live in an arid climate, and it does not lend itself to hosting large populations, particularly during extended droughts. We should follow other western states, prohibit planting grass, however, no other state has a priority the size of the GSL.
We want to see generations, old and young, continue to enjoy the pleasures of Utah’s outdoor magnificence. Our state motto, LIFE ELEVATED, is so true on so many levels. If the issue of climate change and the disappearance of the GSL are not taken seriously and addressed now, our motto becomes LIFE TERMINATED.
Replenishing the GSL would have a very positive and beneficial impact on the SL Valley and surrounding environment. It would reverse the deadly impact declining water has and will continue to have on ecology and environment. Increasing evaporative moisture will lead to increased “lake effect” snows resulting in restoration of seasonal snowpack, benefiting agriculture, winter recreation and enabling sustainable population growth.
We must ensure Utah remains a vibrant community and destination where LIFE remains truly ELEVATED.