Great Salt Lake: Agriculture is draining a natural wonder

The world watches as the Great Salt Lake, one of Earth’s largest saline lakes, deteriorates.

Over the past 30 years, the lake has lost a staggering 15 billion cubic yards (11.4 billion cubic meters) of water. It has grown shallower at the rate of 4 inches (10 cm) each year.

This rapid depletion isn’t a natural mystery. Decades of unsustainable water diversion, combined with increasing demand and a changing climate, have pushed the lake to a breaking point.

Agriculture is a major contributor to this dire situation, particularly in the case of livestock feed crops.

Rapid depletion of Great Salt Lake

A recent study published in the journal Environmental Challenges reveals a shocking statistic. Approximately 62% of the river water heading towards Great Salt Lake gets diverted for human usage.

Agricultural activities are the primary culprits, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the water diverted.

“The research highlights the alarming role of water consumption for feeding livestock in driving the lake’s rapid depletion,” explained William Ripple, a professor of ecology at Oregon State University and co-author of the study.

Almost 80% of agricultural water use is for irrigating alfalfa and hay crops – the primary feed for livestock.

This level of diversion not only depletes the lake’s vital inflows but also raises questions about the long-term sustainability of current agricultural practices in the region.

Significance of Great Salt Lake

The importance of Great Salt Lake extends far beyond its beauty or agricultural use.

As one of the world’s largest saline lakes, it plays important ecological, economic, cultural, and spiritual roles – all of which are in grave danger due to the dramatic decline in lake levels during the past decades.

Data from the Utah Division of Water Resources shows a disturbing trend. From 1989 to 2022, consumption and evaporation consistently outpaced inflows from river water and precipitation.

This imbalance has created an annual deficit of approximately 500 million cubic yards (380 cubic meters), which has further accelerated the lake’s decline.

The water budget has faced a persistent deficit for most of the past century. The situation has been exacerbated by the growing impacts of climate change and prolonged drought, according to the researchers.

“Abnormally large snowmelt inflow during the 1980s and 1990s served to temporarily obscure the long-term decline in lake levels, and the lake actually reached its highest level in more than a century in 1987,” explained Professor Ripple. “But it has been dropping by roughly 4 inches per year on average since then.”

Great Salt Lake is the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere and ranks eighth globally. Its 21,000-square-mile drainage basin, which includes the Wasatch Mountains, relies heavily on snowfall for water replenishment.

Threats from declining lake levels

Great Salt Lake is also a biodiversity hotspot, hosting over 10 million migrating birds and an estimated 350 different species of birds. These habitats are threatened by declining lake levels.

In addition, the lake creates $2.5 billion in annual economic activity. Recreation, mining, and the harvesting of brine shrimp support more than 9,000 jobs. As salinity levels increase, however, brine shrimp experience extreme stress.

Human health also suffers as the Lake shrinks, with wind-carried dust from the exposed saline lakebed causing a range of pulmonary problems.

Saving Great Salt Lake

To halt this alarming trend and start refilling the lake, a 35% reduction of human water consumption in the Great Salt Lake watershed by 35% has been proposed.

This includes a significant cut in irrigated alfalfa production, a fallowing of much of the region’s irrigated grass hay fields, and taxpayer-funded compensation for affected farmers and ranchers.

Conservation measures such as crop shifting, reducing municipal and industrial use, and leasing water rights from irrigators have also been proposed.

The impacts of these changes will be significant, and will affect as many as 20,000 farmers and ranchers in the basin. However, the situation presents an opportunity to set a precedent for addressing water scarcity globally.

“The economic and cultural adjustments required are significant but not insurmountable. With the right policies and public support, we can secure a sustainable future for the Great Salt Lake and set a precedent for addressing water scarcity globally,” concluded Professor Ripple.

The full study was published in the journal Environmental Challenges.

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