Scientists say excessive water use is to blame, with 74% of diverted lakewater being used for unsustainable agricultural practices
Utah's Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, could be set to disappear within the next five years, exposing millions of people to the toxic dust trapped in the drying lake bed, according to scientists.
The Great Salt Lake provides a habitat for around 10 million migratory birds and brings Utah roughly $2.5 billion a year in economic activity, but, after drying at record rates since 2020, is currently sitting at 19 feet below its natural average levels, the report found.
The lake's dwindling water is also nudging its salinity above safe levels for the algae and the brine shrimp that sustain its enormous food web, pushing the region's ecosystem to the brink of total collapse. "We need to pull the emergency levers to get the water from our above-average snowpack to the lake," Abbott said."There has been really encouraging progress already, with substantial bills passed last year that will encourage conservation in the long term. We need to add an emergency rescue to the mix.
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