SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — A Utah County homeowner’s association recently tackled a cleanup project at Utah Lake that was much bigger than usual.
The Saratoga Springs Private Community sits on the shores of a recreational oasis.
“While it does only average 14 feet deep, it’s a whole lot of fun,” said Tye Bratton, who’s lived in the community for the past 15 years.
Utah Lake is a gateway to adventure for Bratton and his family.
“We’ve got paddle boards, we’ve got canoes, kayaks, we have an older boat that we take out as much as we can,” Bratton said.
But he learned their community’s harbor also holds thousands of pounds of unwanted waste.
“They were definitely an eyesore,” said Bratton.
Bratton explained to me that while you can’t see it from the shoreline amid this period of higher water, around 40 tires were piled up in the lake — and he believes they’d sat there for decades.
“They were put here, we figure, back in the ’60s or ’70s to kind of shore up the dikes that are behind me that protect the harbor,” Bratton said.
Bratton started seeking permission to remove them in August of 2024, which required going through the Utah Lake Authority (ULA), the Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Three weeks ago, he got the green light, and he happens to know his way around heavy machinery.
“Unfortunately…we break things on a regular basis,” Bratton said with a chuckle.
But a tall task still awaited him and his community.
“Some of these tires — they weighed over 1,000 pounds,” Bratton said. “Some of them were over seven feet in diameter.”
With the help of funding from their HOA, Bratton says it took 60 man-hours, eight residents and the help of a mini-excavator and a dump truck.
It also meant braving the chilly waters in scuba gear to find them.
“I had my wetsuit on, I had my gloves on, I had booties on, and I was still cold,” said Bratton.
By all pulling together, they managed to pull out 21 tires over a four-day span.
“During the next drought, which I hope is a long way out, the plan is to go back with equipment to get the rest of the tires out,” Bratton said.
He hopes their effort can inspire others to be good stewards of the lake and to keep Utah’s natural beauty intact.
“If individuals are walking around the lake and pick up trash - it helps,” said Bratton. “If some of us are pulling giant tires out of the lake — it helps!”
The ULA commended the HOA’s efforts, telling us: “Their hard work not only helped Utah Lake's thriving ecosystem but also helped foster vibrant communities around the lake. It's dedicated Utahns like the Saratoga Springs Homeowners Association that help preserve the lake for future generations.”
Once the tires are out, Bratton says their plan is to fill in those dikes with rocks to ensure its stability.
