Record snow brings Great Salt Lake back from the brink of drought

Last year, Utah's Great Salt Lake reached its lowest level ever recorded, but massive snow amounts this summer have brought it back from the brink. Now, there are new signs of life at the lake. John Blackstone has more.
#news #utah #weather
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[@janetleishman3776]

So very happy to see the lake come back

[@timladnier1644]

God does amazing things.

[@ArtTheSinger]

For now

[@MostlyRight]

Its not back! Just a small reprieve.

[@jaredf6205]

@@timladnier1644If that’s true, he also does all the terrible things then

[@timothyb3121]

​@@jaredf6205 That would be True also, but these fake churches never tell their Congregations that.

[@johnydriessen6813]

This story needed to further stress the necessity for much greater water conservation efforts in the state. This is a brief reprieve at best.

[@panzer5033]

CA voters passed Prop 1 over 10 years ago for water infrastructure. Over 10 years later, little has been done and the record rainfall is continuing to be wasted.

[@richardpare3538]

Best thing that cam happen is that people move away.

[@TrendyStone]

@@richardpare3538 Move away? Not gonna happen.

[@TrendyStone]

@@panzer5033 CA is the state that endlessly lectures the other 49 but can't run itself.

[@Gmoney1807]

@@TrendyStoneca is ran better than probably 95% of the rest of the states it’s not worth spending billions to create rain catches everywhere when we only get rain every 5-10 years if you actually used your brain instead of going and talking crap about a subject you have no clue about you might realized that we do it way better than anyone else lol

[@montanamtngirl]

Great news! I hope for another great winter and more water into the great salt lake in 2024. 😊

[@user-du1mz5zx7s]

I wouldn’t bet on that..

[@nolanholmberg311]

Dawg imma be real. I give states like Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas, etc 10 years tops before it’s completely uninhabitable for human life

[@eliseolopez6504]

The suffering occurred the abundance the pineapple express brought will transform your life

[@eliseolopez6504]

Isaiah 11

[@eliseolopez6504]

Day seven has risen come and enter my rest Hebrews 4

[@ElementofKindness]

I love the guy patting himself on the back, like he had anything to do with water filling the lake this year. 😂😂😂

[@victorm1559]

I ❤ Utah. My home sweet home. ❤️🇺🇸

[@lonnywilcox445]

The GSL is a terminal lake. Terminal in this case meaning not that it is dying but that it has no outflow river. This is precisely the reason it is a salt lake. All of the minerals dissolved in the water that feeds into the lake have been concentrated since the last ice age. All of the water that leaves the lake does so through evaporation which leaves all of the dissolved minerals behind. This is important because it means the level of the lake has always risen and fallen with changes in the precipitation of the region. If you look at the lake sediments it becomes clear that the lake has been lower than it was last year, actually far lower. When they say "the lowest level ever" they really mean the lowest level since humans moved to the area and recorded the level on a regular basis. That is really only the last 175 years or so. Far more damaging than low water levels are high water levels. Being a terminal lake with no open outflow, if the rain and snowmelt outpace the evaporation the water will rise. In fact it will rise to the point that it will breach its own basin and become an open lake. That would be catastrophic as the water would drain into the Snake river poisoning it with salt at high concentrations. It would then end up in the Columbia river and do the same, which would be a serious problem. I remember when the lake got so high they were concerned about flooding in the communities around the lake and pumped water out of it into the desert to lower the level. Not healthy for the desert at all as the salt prevents plant growth and takes decades to be washed out of the soils. If you are concerned about low water in the lake, just look up on the sides of the mountains at the rock ledges formed by Lake Bonneville. Before it broke its own natural dam it covered GSL and the entire valley where the city now resides. And recall that what caused that lake to rise to the point of breaching its enclosure was climate change. It got cooler and wetter and evaporation no longer was able to keep the lake from rising. So, you are better off hoping for lower lake levels than higher and kind of simple for thinking that climate change hasn't always been a thing.

[@juliefitzgerald6042]

No one denies the changes in climate. We just don't think spending billions of tax dollars to control the weather seems like a story from Greek mythology.

[@GardenerEarthGuy]

​@@juliefitzgerald6042 $5 per person has a better chance.

[@winkieblink7625]

Awesome!

[@u.s.m.c.fewproudthemarines2987]

Beautiful MOTHER NATURE AT HER FINEST TY GOD FOR HELPING

[@Sailor376also]

One good winter. But the bad spending habits of water users has not changed. It did not scare them enough. Because they haven't changed a thing. And what tiny bit of conservation and change has been instituted,, is just not enough for the long haul or the short haul.

[@Prophet_be_her_name.]

Mother Nature will always try and balance herself out somehow.. We just need to do our part to help her. ❤ 🌎

[@La-eh4jk]

Mother Nature? Sad how you can't admit we have a creator.

[@Prophet_be_her_name.]

@@La-eh4jk So I'm guessing you didn't help your parents with chores & responsibilities.. & if you're a parent yourself, you don't expect your children to help you out around the house? 😉 ❤ 🌎

[@adamheck8367]

Did the natural biologist really just say "you cant rely on mother nature"

[@james_giant_peach]

Yeah but she has a point who can rely on a thing that is unpredictable. It’s a tail as old as “the weather man said it wouldn’t rain on my birthday”

[@christopherclanton1986]

When I heard that I thought how foolish it sounds. Man and in this case wo- man places much importance on themselves. The earth will take care of itself

[@MusikCassette]

it only sounds foolish because that is just half the sentence and out of context.

[@MrArtist7777]

Wonderful news but, doubt it will last as the trend shows dryer, warmer years ahead. Hopefully Utah lawmakers and planners cordon off sections of the lake to save for the future and use the extra areas for overly wet years.

[@garman7921]

By scientists that are paid to say so.

[@smolpener7430]

If tesla maintains its trend, the one stock I own will make me a millionaire by the time I retire, but since inflation is going to maintain it's trend too, a million dollars won't be enough for a loaf of bread.

[@MusikCassette]

ok, so here is what should happen in my opinion. step 1: the West of the USA builds a shitload of solar power. So much, that for a sizable proportion of the year you got more than you need for other stuff. step 2: you build pumped Hydro for seawater so you have Energy for the nights as well. The energy losses due to evaporations are gains in freshwater supply. step 3: U use your pumped saltwater system to get the seawater over the watershed into the great basin and evaporate it in the saltdesert of Utah. that way there is a stedy influx into the watersystem of the basin. step 4: seasonal energy overproduction gets used for water desalination to fill up reservoirs along the way of the seawater. The brine still gets send to the desert.

[@SlickRick330]

Finally a feel good story about the climate.

[@michaelclasby6648]

@@napalmholocaust9093it’s still good that there’s been a bit of a revival, even if it’s temporary

[@eliharp3576]

Wonderful story, thank you!

[@Myers70]

🤣🤣🤣🤣Okay KAREN

[@normalgirlcvco]

God bless ❤

[@jazziered142]

The Great Salt Lake is beautiful.

[@RobertMJohnson]

No it isn’t. Lake Tahoe is beautiful. The great salt lake is an ugly lake.

[@cooldudicus7668]

Indeed it is.

[@cooldudicus7668]

​@@RobertMJohnsonThat's nice. You enjoy your lake. I will enjoy the Great Salt Lake. Have a nice day.

[@donotneed2250]

I still recall my wife's reaction the first time she saw it. We're from Georgia, I was hauling freight at the time and it was her first time riding with me. She fell in love with it.

[@fastbreak0822]

Thank you Mother Nature.... People do your part.... Never take anything for granted...

[@joedoe6444]

don't thank mother nature, thank manmade cloud seeding around this area for the snow. the local news stations reported on it, but their corporate bosses shut them down from further reporting and investigating. you may still be able to find some clips of the news on you-tube but most have been blocked.

[@charlesward8196]

Hey, lets really restore the environment and bring back Lake Bonneville!

[@Auntkekebaby]

Great news!!!

[@innocentnemesis3519]

Awesome to hear, but Utah shouldn’t be an agricultural state lmao… it’s a desert. This lake will drain again if industry keeps exploiting it.

[@jrrarglblarg9241]

Um, wut? The Great Salt Lake is filled with, get this, salt water. 🤯 It isn’t used by agriculture OR industry.

[@gemmeldrakes2758]

​@@jrrarglblarg9241It is the fresh water, from rivers and streams which feeds the lake, that gets diverted for agriculture and never reaches the lake. As less water gets to the lake, the desert heat dries out the lake faster and than the water can be replaced. It is what killed the Aral sea in Asia. Ironically, fresh water must get into a salt lake, in order for it to survive.

[@jrrarglblarg9241]

@@gemmeldrakes2758 I’ll race you to the numbers to see what’s the most significant factor at play here. Post what you find. My first cursory glance reveals “over three-quarters of Utah's water is used for agriculture-45 percent of which goes toward alfalfa production.” which supports your general assertion that maybe they shouldn’t do that in Utah.

[@jrrarglblarg9241]

@@gemmeldrakes2758 The water we are talking about is described on the Utah division of water rights page thusly: “Water Use Information for Water Right Applications Revised: April 17, 2018 Beneficial use is the basis, the measure and the limit of all rights to the use of water in this state. A water right is quantified based on its beneficial use. The diversion figure in water right applications is the quantity of water expressed as a flow rate in cfs (cubic feet per second) and/or as a volume in acre-feet to be taken from a well, river, spring, etc. for the required purpose. Unless limited by a period of use or otherwise noted with a specific water right's definition, a water right's time basis for quantification is Annual. The depletion figure is the quantity of water consumed which will be lost to the hydrologic system through said use. Depleted water does not return to the surface water sources or underground aquifers via seepage, drainage, etc. but is consumed in the growth of plants and animals, evaporation, and transmission away from the area. The following figures are used for general quantification. As new data is available, these figures may change. If applicants provide specific figures based on design criteria, testing data, monitored measurements, etc. which differ from these amounts, such information will be reviewed and considered. One cubic-foot per second equals about 450 gallons per minute. One acre-foot of water equals 325,851 gallons.” This gives some frame of reference to the inflow numbers they state in the video. A household is listed as consuming an average .25 acre feet per year.

[@asherjackson7]

​@@jrrarglblarg9241 This very video you just watched explained that the Bear River is the main source of (fresh) water for the GSL. It's not hard to find plenty of info on this (the Jordan River and City Creek are the others, I believe). These are fresh water rivers, fed by melting snowpack, that run into a high salinity terminal lake, where the water then becomes high salinity. We keep building dams on these rivers to divert water for agricultural and residential use which is why the lake level keeps dropping. More dams are in the works as we speak, despite these issues.

[@peacenow4456]

Really enjoying this new program CBS Saturday Morning since i've LOVED SUNDAY MORNiNG FOR DECADES... The epitome of GO0D NEWS!

[@hamelconsultancyllc]

It’s not a sign of hope. They still need to cut a ton of water usage, especially for ag and industry. One good year won’t make up for another decade of drought…

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

But 3 million more illegals and more coming don’t use water, huh

[@Mike__B]

Curious how the salinity of the lake has changed over time as a result of this (and previous drought), I'm sure someone wrote a paper and I can find that info online, I'm just too lazy to search for it.

[@123mneil]

There is a website dedicated to the great salt lake that has all the stats.

[@MegaLokopo]

The salinity will always go up, there is a salt water river that runs into it adding salt and no way for salt to leave the lake.

[@dropkickirish4449]

Residents of SLC: “We can take 30 minute showers now!” Residents of SLC in a few years: “How’d this drought happen again?”

[@GIRTHYBOY]

U win the internet today sir so funny 😂

[@dropkickirish4449]

@@GIRTHYBOY It’s the same story here in Denver. We’re just blatantly wasting this long-awaited water after 12 years of drought instead of conserving it. People are dumb all over.

[@thenewage9723]

More snow will replenish it over those years

[@davidanderson6100]

You nailed it,

[@1BobsYourUncle]

Ok Karen….

[@user-ti3ch7on8l]

High intensity irrigation is back on the menu!

[@thehammer3193]

There is hope for another massive snow pack this year. El Nino is building in the Pacific. Normally this means a decent amount of snowfall for Utah, but this years El Nino is building to be a Super El Nino This pushes storm activity further north and makes them more intense. Fingers Crossed, we will have another well above average winter this year.

[@forrestio76]

No such thing as "normal" weather, only averages and those are determined over a one hundred year period. Welcome back Great Salt Lake! BTW, Humans are very bad at predicting the future.

[@65stang98]

its almost like these things happen in nature.

[@katherinem.4414]

How is the salt content still?? Will the lake still help to produce the powder snow?

[@Brian-os9qj]

Great to see for the Great Salt Lake

[@geomodelrailroader]

Salt Lake is back hopefully it stays that way and stays healthy.

[@mattalley4330]

Hope in one hand, crap in the other, and see which one fills up first…

[@peculiarfilm]

Went right over those anchors heads ☠️

[@kenhunt5153]

The truth is the Legislature has dragged their feet on meaningful changes. Has one alfalfa farmer sold their water rights? Has the State put a permanent end to the Bear River Project? They fund studies and hope the Feds will pay all costs. A true grifter State.

[@markbarta2369]

Don't know if they grew alfalfa or not but several water rights holders at the start of the year donated water rights to something like 300,000 acre-feet per year to restoring/maintaining the lake going forward.

[@kenhunt5153]

@@markbarta2369 LDS Church and SLC did. Not one farmer did.

[@matthew3136]

It’s Zion. Right? Or do the lds need to move again?

[@markbarta2369]

@@kenhunt5153 you do realize the LDS Church operates a LOT of farm and ranch land in Utah as part of their church welfare system?

[@kenhunt5153]

@@markbarta2369 See above response.

[@tomacord8829]

It's so funny because many years ago as a kid I remember Governor Norm bangerter was trying to pump water out of it

[@MegaLokopo]

Yea, and now the solution is the exact opposite, pump water into it from the ocean, potentially using the same pump for part of the journey.

[@TrendyStone]

@@MegaLokopo Or...don't worry about it since the lake has grown and shrunk for thousands of years. That will continue.

[@MegaLokopo]

@@TrendyStone Yes, but I prefer not to be breathing in acidic dust if the lake stays too low for too long, and a wind storm happens. Especially when the solution is a simple pipe from the ocean. I don't care that acidic dust was blown all over the valley 2 hundred or thousand years ago because I wasn't there. I am here now, and I would prefer it if we prevented acidic dust from being blown into my face on my way to work.

[@TrendyStone]

@@MegaLokopo Have you heard of Lake Bonneville? The entire Salt Lake Valley is lakebed.

[@smolpener7430]

@@MegaLokopo Anything short of complete control of the weather is insufficient when minor consequences involve me.

[@skippymagrue]

If you live in a desert, a traditional lawn is probably not the best thing to have. There are so many beautiful and great xeriscaping options.

[@aqueen13]

I agree that there are some very pretty xeriscape options however I don’t think it would be good for everyone to use them. I know they are pushing this but plants help clean our air. The less plants we have the more polluted our air will be. Plants also cool the earth so with much less of them our weather would feel way hotter which would speed evaporation at the lake. We can use water wisely without getting rid of all the plants.

[@eliseolopez6504]

I see a eucalyptus clear sky adorned with a bright full moon

[@JWRay-xh9wl]

All things in their Time...

[@artcurious807]

The Honga Tonga eruption ejected moisture into the upper atmosphere. This winter should produce more snowfall again around 100-150% totals. Maybe ending the drought conditions for years to come

[@kelly333334]

But how will the lake function with severe drought then flood, then severe drought then flood. Its the extremes we should be worried about!

[@smolpener7430]

The brine shrimp sure will have a hard time of it. The lake doesn't "function" genius.

[@TraJonR3D]

So blissful being so oblivious 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@mafuletrekkie]

That was a close call. Here is hoping people take the warning for what it is.

[@joedoe6444]

another news story that only tells us 1/10th of the actual story. they didn't mention once the massive amount of cloud seeding that was done to cause the huge snowfall totals. they didn't mention the number of people who had the rooves on their houses collapse from the weight of all that snow. they didn't mention the mudslides/floods that blocked roads from all of that snow melting. they don't mention the lower levels of snow/rain fall further to the east due to it all being forced to fall in this area.

[@jakelindsay6251]

And you failed to mention that Utah has been Cloud seeding since the 1950's.

[@fty-ys4ni]

Roofs*

[@bonegrubber]

aND once again you failed to remember my birthday!

[@jamessherosick2747]

@@bonegrubber happy birthday, ya filthy animal.

[@blackthornsloe8049]

Let my climate anxiety rest for a second before you trash it for me .

[@aydolnunguna7612]

You know what sucks. A fresh water goes into a salt water.

[@MusikCassette]

and there it evaporates again. at least the water system of the great basin had a bit of an influx this year.

[@BKetch]

Mother Nature always prevails. Humans think they can control it, then Mother Nature says "Naw you aint in control of me."

[@CJP-oz6hr]

Yep, they’ve been diverting water that would naturally flow into the GSL…..that’s the real reason the lake has been shrinking. I’m utterly surprised this was kept out of the interview.

[@asherjackson7]

The entire western US is still in a long-term drought trend. Northern Utah gets cyclical record snowfall every 10-12 years, and this was that year. It didn't solve the problem, it just bought a little more time for the state to rethink its unsustainable practices and abuse of natural resources, which I doubt they will. We will be right back to the same issue in a year or two, and the Great Salt Lake will likely collapse in 6-7 years instead of 5, unless extreme action is taken. The drought and the misuse and abuse of water resources are still in play, none of the underlying causes have changed. Everyone saying God is good - though I'm not religious, I do not believe God would be invested in ensuring willfully ignorant people are able to keep their sprawling lawns, golf courses, and ridiculous alfafa fields lush in the middle of the damn desert. This is abuse and stupidity well beyond what was provided - the lake would be full and stable without this winter's snowfall if we weren't abusing the resources for the sake of green lawns everywhere.

[@kellychuang8373]

That's also something to think about.

[@billybrown7953]

But the democrats were crying climate crisis, climate crisis while the area received much needed snow.

[@asherjackson7]

@@billybrown7953 What is your point? There is a climate crisis, one season of better snowfall doesn't suddenly mean the last twenty years of drought never happened or won't continue. The problem is still there, and this has nothing to do with political party. This is data, science, and observable events.

[@billybrown7953]

@@asherjackson7 LOL 😂, another democrat cheerleader.

[@locn]

Geniuses growing alfalfa to sell to the sauds. Utahns are incredibly short sighted and attribute everything to God. We’ll see you guys in a few years when you beg for another pipeline to be built to the pacific ocean

[@ThatIsJustCrazyTalk]

What a shock, it’s in the middle of a DESERT. Damned mow-rons.

[@ZakhadWOW]

and yet it survived for milliof years, in cycle, until the Mormon breeding farms of Utah exploded into uncontrolled growth and insane diversion of water from all the rivers. HUMANS took what would have been a rough 20 years and turned it into a massive disaster.. and I have been living in SLC for 32 years, so **I** have room to speak about this.. you do not.

[@GregKingston]

Alarmists were wrong again.

[@cooldudicus7668]

Yup. But the enviro alarmists will have a new hoax soon. Sad.

[@megapixies]

Dust storms=nucleation=precipitation….🤔

[@EteonEteon-fs1iz]

First we complain that there's not enough water. Then we get a deluge and we complain that we have too much water! Then one day we have a drought that threatens to turn the mud to dust -- and yet again...we complain. Then all of a sudden a blizzard blankets the mountains and lower valley, it melts and we have an over abundance of H2O! Whether it rains or doesn't, whether it snows or does not -- either the lakes are boatable or the pleasure crafts we bought are stranded on the beach... No matter what the earth does we'll find a way to create an extinction level event out of it...and complain until the cows come home! And I always found it strange that when we have a drought we never say " Thank God"! And when we have a flood, we never whisper the words " Thank God"! And given an exceptionally bright sunny day on a calm lake with a cool breeze, surrounded by family and friends -- we still won't utter the words " Thank God"! So who's controlling the weather? And who is to blame? Mother Nature or God...🤔? Are they one in the same or is it just us making up sh*t as we go along...to give ourselves an enjoyment that the truth would refuse us! * Usually when people have this many problems in a marriage they get a divorce...🥴!

[@noahshields507]

Thank god your not in any position of power

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

​@@noahshields507 Ditto that!! 😅😂

[@YoWarped]

Humans can be the one to blame also for the weather depending on what they do.

[@EteonEteon-fs1iz]

@@YoWarped you are absolutely correct. And probably only one of a rare few that acknowledges man's role in his own plight.

[@Rzagski]

He error for anyone is to use the word “stable” when referring to weather. The weather is variable. The planet is forever in a state of change.

[@galenhaugh3158]

Stable???...The lake level fluctuates naturally and the brine fly is the only thing living in it--there are no fish at all!

[@johnwaite1049]

Always comes back. Just the planet doing what it does best.

[@matthew3136]

Tell that to the Aral Sea.

[@emmanueldearredondo8690]

Great story Great reporting

[@RobertMJohnson]

Propaganda and nothing more

[@eliseolopez6504]

Give me strength you nourish nature you feed it its nutrients you see it as it grows one crumble of the food of your children O GOD JEHOVA MY MAKER MY SIGHT TURNS TO YOU

[@louisc.gasper7588]

It is so stupid to think there aren't cycles in weather and the climate.

[@lilFougie]

Why isn't the headline about the lake disappearing in as little as 5 years?

[@smolpener7430]

Because the water level rose several feet, which is the opposite of going down, since you seem unaware.

[@A3Kr0n]

Joel's right, in five years things will probably be bad again. Enjoy your water today.

[@eliseolopez6504]

8 28 23 wow look at the moon this evening

[@MichaelSkinner-pq3pe]

The worst drought in “1200 years”?? What records support this claim?

[@smolpener7430]

The presence of water leaves measurable geological imprints.

[@noneofurbusiness3033]

A basketball is 1/4 cubic foot volume. Not 1 as was stated

[@apricot_mango]

Not sure what you can do with a salty lake... We've got Oceans all around and we cannot drink one drop of it.

[@JPumpkinKing]

We do A LOT more with it than you think.

[@davidnguyen6624]

Great story.

[@chewygaming1]

I remember the water being so low they were finding barrels containing mafia victims.

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

The mob hates droughts

[@SS-yj2le]

How us here in California along with northwest Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah work on a water network to bring water from the gulf of California to the Salton Sea and the Great Salt Lake? Potential for more wetland habitats, hydroelectricity, and even potential water navigation farther inland that could even allow Arizona to have direct access to the Pacific ocean. Can use water pumps for a shorter distance starting from closer lower valleys in Nevada.

[@harmoncollege]

God provides.

[@MostlyRight]

Until we realize the amount of growth out west it totally unsustainable we will continue to minimize these water issues.

[@zacharyhutson8420]

Who would of seen that coming? Medias a joke

[@dehsa38]

Is anyone getting the idea, "God giveth, and God taketh away"?

[@WhereOceansMeeet]

No, I'm thinking if we keep messing up the planet we'll either lose all water or be under it.

[@smolpener7430]

no

[@Peacefulwarrior975]

And there’s a El Niño winter coming - we can kiss the drought goodbye! 😊

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

Maybe, maybe not.

[@Peacefulwarrior975]

@@michaeldeierhoi4096 no - we absolutely can kiss the drought goodbye. Ca is already out of the drought other western state will follow after this wet and rainy winter. Sorry to the doomsayers out there.

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

@@Peacefulwarrior975 Southern New Mexico and especially Las Cruces is in the second driest period on record. Normally we get over four inches of rain through the first six months of the year, but this year we have gotten less than two inches. So we have ongoing outdoor water restrictions. Hopefully our monsoon will pick up soon because that monsoon season ends on Sept 30. The western states including NM did get a reprieve from the drought after the record setting snow pack which has helped. But I expect prolonged drought conditions will return. El Niño which is ramping up now could delay that for a year or so, but that is too early to say at this point. Another snowy winter would be nice. We rarely get much snow in southern NM, but snow up north benefits the whole state in run off. We'll just see how it plays out. By the way a rainy winter winter with a record snow pack is still only temporary especially for those of us in desert regions.

[@Peacefulwarrior975]

@@michaeldeierhoi4096 oh yeah, climate change is real. The last few years you and I were in opposite places. I’m in Ca currently, Ca just got out of a 10+ year drought. The last few years have been pretty scary, lots of fires close to home (evacuated a couple times) - all while EVERYONE back east has been experiencing “perfect” weather. That’s all EVERYONE said - “to bad for California”. Therefore my original comment is just cyclical.

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

@@Peacefulwarrior975 I empathize with you having to evacuate not once, but twice. I am deeply concerned that these dangerous fire storms will increase and areas originally thought to be safe will become less so.

[@retroactiveIifestyle]

They should find a way to drain that stinking bog out to the ocean and be rid of it once and for all

[@jazziered142]

Oh, you're that person. Euww!!!

[@MegaLokopo]

Funny how all we need to solve the problem is one pipe from the ocean to pump ocean water directly into the great salt lake. Problem solved.

[@smolpener7430]

Do we bring back slavery to build it, or bankrupt hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of people to pay for it?

[@notlob23]

Nature will find a way...

[@silkeeberle8484]

Mother Nature has her own plan.

[@explorewithme4707]

We need to save drinking water. Not conserve a salty lake. I get the dust but…

[@Thebonesoftrees]

This is awesome news.

[@jdl7211]

Divert river water to irrigate crops and sustain millions of people in the desert. Lake goes dry. It's a mystery why. Oh...drought.

[@jasonz7788]

Not wasting water. Hummmm start there

[@benghaziwarrior3687]

So they were wrong

[@lapidaryland]

So they are not wasting Colorado water?

[@smolpener7430]

Utah has minimal access to the Colorado river, and it almost never uses it's entire allotment. Although, what we do use is mostly applied towards irrigating lawns.

[@andyjohnson3790]

Humans got lucky and now will forget all the worries and double down on resources demand. It happiall the time.

[@RealzFoSho]

Yup. And as soon as their weather goes back to normal (it is a desert) and the water level starts dropping again, they will be blaming it on other people (global climate change) while all but completely ignoring the fact that they are taking way more water than the area can sustain.

[@andyjohnson3790]

@@RealzFoSho Yup. 👍 The Left is trying to destroy America. Gosh I hate politics

[@spacecase6825]

we need water trains that fill their tanks with pacific ocean water . there are plenty of trax on the shore already and even in the middle of the lake .

[@donEvans27]

We can move petroleum from Canada to Mississippi but water is just so hard to work with?

[@smolpener7430]

Can you make a profit moving the water, or will it just burn a hole in your pocket the whole time? Petroleum produces a profit. Would you work for free? Do you want to pay for it?

[@donEvans27]

@@smolpener7430 late stage capitalism is so ugly

[@donEvans27]

@@smolpener7430 infrastructure is why government is necessary. Do you pay for roads, police, schools and all the services necessary for civilization? Get out of your mom’s basement and get some fresh air.

[@donEvans27]

@@smolpener7430 btw, your “profitable@ petroleum industry is subsidized by our tax dollars. Education is so vital, get some.

[@eliseolopez6504]

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

[@eliseolopez6504]

Amen

[@eliseolopez6504]

I believe

[@tyzxcj34]

Need a water pipeline for all those wester states. Arizona, Utah, Nevada etc.

[@2headedcow5252]

Mother Nature sent you a lifeline now it’s up to us

[@rickc-137___]

Record snow means cooling period is coming soon, maybe 🤔 heating first then cooling, lets just hope its not a long cooling.

[@fai1t0liv3]

We are literally getting a second chance and we're going to waste it. People won't learn until they suffer.

[@MusikCassette]

ok, so here is what should happen in my opinion. step 1: the West of the USA builds a shitload of solar power. So much, that for a sizable proportion of the year you got more than you need for other stuff. step 2: you build pumped Hydro for seawater so you have Energy for the nights as well. The energy losses due to evaporations are gains in freshwater supply. step 3: U use your pumped saltwater system to get the seawater over the watershed into the great basin and evaporate it in the saltdesert of Utah. that way there is a stedy influx into the watersystem of the basin. step 4: seasonal energy overproduction gets used for water desalination to fill up reservoirs along the way of the seawater. The brine still gets send to the desert.

[@ubergeek1968]

The GSL has been evaporating for 15,000 years and is currently 1/10th is maximum size. This is what happens, it is natural, and we cannot stop it. The lake supports no aquatic life (except for some brine shrimp) and the seagulls have other bodies of water they can live on or near. Risking the failure of food crops in order to save a lake simply to "preserve beauty" is a ridiculous and losing strategy. The better course would be to plan how to deal with the dry lakebed to protect the area from the dust.

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

You left out the dramatic increase in population in combination with rivers flowing to the GSL were tapped for agriculture. And the drought over the last 22 years has caused the most precipitous decline in the lake in countless generations just as those same factors caused lakes Mead and Powell to also drop to record low levels this year before getting a reprieve with the record snow pack.

[@juliefitzgerald6042]

What goes up...must come down. Water that evaporates goes up...cools...and comes back down...eventually.

[@MusikCassette]

the question is where. also is that a suggestion to do seawater evaporation in strategic places?

[@jataviorbyrd2461]

Mother nature* fine, I'll fix it, my damn self*

[@offgridcarnivore]

The great basin filled full of ocean water during the last pole flip it'll fill up again soon in the next great disaster

[@smolpener7430]

Bonneville was a freshwater lake, and magnetic pole flips have left absolutely no correlating evidence of greater consequence.

[@johnklaus9111]

😊😊😊❤❤🎉

[@railworksamerica]

let’s gooo

[@blkxdragon]

People are using up that water for drinking and farming. Meaning the great salt lake is still doomed!

[@128mrboss]

Oh no people drink water….

[@craigieplaysstuff]

They are not allowed to use or tamper with water directly from the lake itself

[@oliverheaviside2539]

@@craigieplaysstuff People divert water that would flow to the lake before it gets there. That is the issue.

[@notsure1277]

That water has a salt content of up to 27% by mass. Nobody is drinking that water. Nobody is using that water for agriculture. That water is unusable. What are you talking about?

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

@@notsure1277brine shrimp love it 😂

[@justayoutuber1906]

The governor of Utah says the solution is more prayer. Isn't that what the Indian's used to do? Dance and pray?

[@Madmun357]

We still do.

[@victorvelarde84]

Winter is coming soon

[@chinhinlow312]

It's actually less than 20% filled. It will dissappear

[@KBNoyes]

Yeah. In 1984 that lake was overflowing and they built a multimillion dollar pump station to pump the water out into the west desert to save the city from flooding. It’s called a long term weather cycle.