OGDEN BAY, Utah — Here on the north fork of the Weber River, scientists take measurements of the water making its way to the Great Salt Lake.
The device, set up by a bridge at the Ogden Bay Waterfowl Protection Area, was just installed. It is one of the closest to the lake itself.
"It’s a new one that’s being installed," said David O'Leary with the U.S. Geological Survey. "It’s part of a partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation and the state of Utah."
The federal government has contributed about $3 million for more stream gauges and buoys at the Great Salt Lake that will help measure water and ecosystem conditions. It will help scientists and even policymakers better react to changing conditions on the lake.
"We’re thrilled with these new stream gauges because it helps us better understand how water moves through Great Salt Lake Basin. Without these measurements? We don’t have an accurate account of how much water is moving through the system and how much ends up in Great Salt Lake," Laura Vernon, the Great Salt Lake Basin Planner for Utah's Division of Water Resources, told FOX 13 News on Monday.
It also helps with a big problem the Great Salt Lake Collaborative (of which FOX 13 News is a member) reported on last year: Utah political leaders have passed dozens of bills and spent nearly $1 billion on water conservation measures, but they cannot guarantee that water saved as a result of it is actually making it into the lake. State officials believe the water is getting into the lake, but there wasn't concrete data proving it.
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The stream gauges will help to show — in real time — exactly where the water is going.
"If we are moving water through a system, we do know it’s getting there. These devices do help us determine that and show and prove that quantity is getting there and what quantity it is," said Teresa Wilhelmsen, the Utah State Engineer.
There are about 75 of these stream gauges across the Great Salt Lake Basin from Logan down past Salt Lake City, but these will be located much closer to the lake itself. They will be installed over the next five years and the data will be made available publicly for people to see.
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"What we’re finding with drought and climate change as we have less flows in the surface water streams, these smaller measurements get more and more critical to understand the functioning of the lake, the functioning the ecosystem, the functioning of salt balance in Great Salt Lake," said O'Leary.
FOX 13 News reported last week that the Great Lake Lake has dropped back down to 2021 levels, which is right before the lake dropped to a historic low the very next year. Lake levels rose over the past couple of years thanks to record-breaking winters.
The impacts of a drying lake can be catastrophic for northern Utah — toxic dust storms, reduced snowpack and water supply and harms to public health and wildlife. The lake's declines have been attributed to water diversion, drought and climate change. Under a lot of public pressure, political leaders have rushed to pass policies and spend money to reverse the lake's declines.
But it is too soon to say if the Great Salt Lake will hit a new historic low next year.
"I think if we see another good year like we’ve had the last two years we could be in good shape," Vernon said. "It’s going to depend a lot on what we see this winter and how people use water."
This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake—and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late. Read all of our stories at greatsaltlakenews.org.
