In March, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated 20,000 acre-feet of water for the lake in perpetuity - the largest water donation in state history. The Utah Legislature has spent more than a billion dollars in the last two years aimed at water conservation and tackled policy shifts that are critical, including allowing Ricks’ division to obtain or lease water rights for the Great Salt Lake and setting up a $40 million trust to raise and leverage money for the benefit of the lake. “But even with this water coming in, we are looking for long-term solutions.” “It was good to see the lake firsthand,” she said. Ricks said it is tough because of the diverse interests at the table: agriculture, industry, water right holders and more. He, like Katie Ricks, assistant director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, worry a wet year like this will lull people into complacency and long-term fixes will not take priority. Kraft has flown over the shrinking Salton Sea in southern California, where - like the Great Salt Lake - windblown dust with toxins are a threat to public health. A Utah snowpack for the records means flooding.The berm was raised four feet in July 2022, but due to this year’s snowpack, water flowing into the Great Salt Lake from the south arm is starting to trickle north. From the air, you could see the causeway berm that separates the saline-filled north arm from the south arm. ![]() Bright red in the north arm, patches of barren-looking playas, a brilliant blue bouncing off the clear sky and shimmering white squares denoting evaporation ponds. On Wednesday, the lake was a kaleidoscope of colors. “I didn’t know the natural beauty of the Great Salt Lake,” he commented, after the flight in the Cessna 210 ended. 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.
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