SALT LAKE CITY — House Speaker Brad Wilson said it is remarkable how much public support is now behind saving the Great Salt Lake.
"It’s been amazing to see over the course of the last 18 months how this has become a top issue for Utahns," he said.
It is one of his top priorities going into the 2023 Utah State Legislature. In a recent interview with FOX 13 News, the powerful political leader promised more money and bills aimed at getting water into the shrinking Great Salt Lake.
"You will see additional policy and investment in conservation. It’s really the thing we’ve just got to nail," he said.
The Great Salt Lake is at its lowest point in recorded history, which has alarmed the public and policy makers on Utah's Capitol Hill. The lake has shrunk as a result of water diversion, drought and a changing climate. The environmental threat includes diminished snowpack, more than a billion dollars in lost economic impact, toxic dust storms and harm to public health and wildlife.
Speaker Wilson, R-Kaysville, said he supported Governor Spencer Cox's budget proposal to increase spending on agriculture optimization, which is using new technology to grow crops with less water.
"That is where the majority of our water goes, so investments there that are relatively small go a long way," he said. "You will see additional financial investments in things like turf buyback programs."
The governor has proposed increasing the amount of funding to get people to ditch lawn they don't actually use and replace it with more drought-friendly landscaping. Utah's water districts are looking to increase the amount of incentives they offer.
The Great Salt Lake Collaborative (of which FOX 13 News is a member) recently traveled to Las Vegas to report on their strict water conservation measures that include officers who patrol neighborhoods to look for water waste and fines for violations. The area is also planning to ban all non-functional turf by the end of 2026. Nevada's governor suggested Utah copy their methods as the mega-drought drags on.
Reacting to those reports, Speaker Wilson said he did not see the need for Utah to match those measures quite yet. Instead, he is personally sponsoring a bill to create "Utah Water Ways," a public outreach campaign with contributions from conservation organizations to educate Utahns on the importance of saving water. It is similar to the Utah Clean Air partnership.
"Conservation from every Utahn is the way we’re going to succeed," Speaker Wilson said.
The Republican House Speaker's efforts to save the Great Salt Lake have earned him praise from environmental groups that are often on the opposite end of the political spectrum. In very unlikely pairings, he has teamed up with environmentalists to push policy and budget changes to help the lake.
But some believe the state needs to act faster.
"Save Our Great Salt Lake is encouraged by the attention on Great Salt Lake we saw during the 2022 legislative session but hopes to see action in 2023 that matches the urgency of this crisis," said Denise Cartwright with the group Save Our Great Salt Lake in an email to FOX 13 News. "Above all, we need water in Great Salt Lake now. Steps were taken in 2022 to enable water rights holders to temporarily lease water rights and to create a Great Salt Lake water trust to acquire water rights for the lake. Still, we’ve yet to see any water acquired on behalf of Great Salt Lake."
Save Our Great Salt Lake, which is planning a Jan. 14 rally to call for the legislature to do more to help the lake, called the upcoming 2023 session an "all hands on deck moment."
"The legislature has the power to make enormous strides to get water to Great Salt Lake but it’s going to take a groundswell of community pressure. We must stay engaged. Last year, important conservation legislation was blocked by special interests and water district lobbyists. We cannot let this happen," Cartwright said.
Cartwright said her group supports investments in agricultural optimization but also wants to ensure that the lake itself has water rights. Speaker Wilson told FOX 13 News he agreed.
"The Great Salt Lake has never actually owned any of its own water. We are changing that," he said. "The Great Salt Lake will own its own water or some of it and that’s part of the water trust. And you’re actually seeing organizations donate wet water shares to the lake. So the lake has an equal seat at the table in many ways to other water owners in the state."
The Speaker created a trust for the lake and put $40 million into it. The trust, administered by a pair of environmental groups, has a goal of getting water for the lake itself. Contracts between the state and the environmental groups are being finalized and Speaker Wilson said he expected announcements soon on water for the lake.
"When will we start to see measurable water flowing to the Great Salt Lake that wouldn’t otherwise? I believe you’re going to see that happening in the next 12 months," he said. "With all the conservation efforts we’ve done, with Ag optimization put in place, working with the local water districts."
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.
