FARMINGTON, Utah — The state of Utah is signing an agreement for a significant donation of water to the Great Salt Lake.
Compass Minerals is donating 200,000 acre feet of water each year to benefit the lake — permanently. It is also donating 65,000 acres of land on the North Arm of the lake to Utah's Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands for lake protection.
Compass Minerals CEO Ed Dowling Jr. signed an agreement with state leaders on Tuesday.
"We’ll continue to work with the state to do what’s right for our business and what’s right for the state in perpetuity," Dowling told reporters afterward.
The water donation is significant. To give you an idea of how much water it is? It's about 65.5 billion gallons of water and would be equivalent to 99,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools every year.
"This is bigger than four or five reservoirs combined," Governor Spencer Cox said following the signing event.
The Great Salt Lake dropped to its lowest level in recorded history in 2022 as a result of water diversion, drought and a changing climate. That alarmed the public and political leaders alike, who have rushed to pass a series of bills and spend more than a billion dollars on water conservation designed to protect the lake. A declining lake presents an ecological catastrophe for Utah with toxic dust, reduced snowpack and significant impacts to public health, wildlife and the economy.
Compass Minerals is voluntarily donating the water and the land. The company operates near Ogden and is a major player in the mineral extraction industry on the Great Salt Lake.
The company has faced some state scrutiny in the past over its water use and mineral extraction on the lake. Earlier this year, the legislature reworked how all mineral extraction companies work on the Great Salt Lake. The new laws dictate that when lake levels are high, mineral companies can use their full allotment of water.
"If the lake level is low, below a certain point where we start getting concerned about the health of the lake, salinity and it’s impact on brine shrimp and ecosystem, we will stop withdrawing from the lake until the lake level recovers," Dowling said.
House Speaker Mike Schultz noted the tough negotiations over the legislation which was designed to protect the lake. He praised Compass for their willingness to come to the table and engage in "difficult discussions" about protecting the Great Salt Lake.
"This 200,000 acre foot donation is huge, but I think more importantly that might be getting glossed over, is what happens when the lake levels get down to what we’ve seen the last couple of years," Speaker Schultz, R-Hooper, said in an interview Tuesday with FOX 13 News.
Companies can enter into voluntary agreements with the state to cut water use in exchange for breaks on severance taxes.
"If they don't? The state will come in and set what those agreements are," Speaker Schultz said. "We’re hopeful other companies look at the lead the Compass set and come into place. But if not? We will move forward with mandated cuts for consumption on the Great Salt Lake. We have to."
Gov. Cox said he believed the water donation made by Compass will also yield a significant benefit for the Great Salt Lake.
"Every year it goes down, right? Some of that is from evaporation but a large part of that is because of companies like Compass that are using that water. That lowers the lake levels," he told reporters. "What happens now is the lake during the summer won’t go down as far which means now we’re banking. So the next year when water gets in we get more and that starts stacking and that’s going to make a difference long-term."
The governor confirmed to FOX 13 News his office was negotiating with other companies for similar agreements.
Even environmental groups were impressed with Compass Minerals' donation.
"It really illustrates and puts an exclamation point on the fact that we need every diverse interest out there working together to come up with solutions to preserve the Great Salt Lake," said Marcelle Shoop, the saline lakes director for the Audubon Society.
Lynn de Freitas, the executive director of Friends of Great Salt Lake, called the donation "impressive."
"Truly a significant amount of water," she told FOX 13 News in a text message. "Comparable to what was being proposed for the Bear River development. Impressive!"
The Great Salt Lake has risen about six feet from its historic low in 2022. But it remains several feet below what is considered the start of a healthy ecological range.
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.
