The shores of the Great Salt Lake near Syracuse are pictured on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill sponsored by Utah Republican Rep. John Curtis on Tuesday that includes the Great Salt Lake in the federal government’s Colorado River water conservation plan, possibly freeing up federal funds to help the Beehive State’s beleaguered saline lake.
The Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act tweaks the Central Utah Project Completion Act, which takes water from the Colorado River basin in eastern Utah, and through a system of reservoirs, rivers and pipelines, diverts it to the Wasatch Front where it’s used for municipal and industrial use. The project is described by the Department of Interior as Utah’s “largest and most comprehensive federal water resource development project.”
Now, the secretary of the department can use their budget authority to take water conservation measures “within the Great Salt Lake basin,” according to the bill text.
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Curtis says this will give water managers greater flexibility when making conservation decisions regarding the Great Salt Lake, allowing them to take steps to protect “Utah and the West from the economic and public health risks of an ecological disaster.”
“Utahns have worked tirelessly to protect the Great Salt Lake, but persistent drought conditions now threaten its long-term viability. Recognizing the urgency of this issue, the Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act would expand the Colorado River water conservation program to include the lake,” Curtis said in a statement.
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The bill was co-sponsored by members of the Utah Delegation, including Republican Reps. Celeste Maloy, Blake Moore and Burgess Owens.
Utah’s Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed said the bill could have “a huge impact on the lake and its future.”
“It is great to have partners in Congress who recognize these issues and are willing to collaborate to create innovative and effective solutions,” Steed said in a statement.
Water levels at the Great Salt Lake have been in steady decline since peaking in May — currently the south arm of the lake sits at about 4,192.5 feet, with the north arm, separated by a railroad causeway, at about 4,191.8 feet.
That’s a far rosier outlook than years prior, when the lake hit a historic low of 4,188.5 feet in November 2022.
Still, according to the Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan released earlier this year, the lake needs between 471,000 and 1,055,000 acre-feet of additional water delivered each year for it to reach 4,198 feet in elevation, which is considered the “low end” of the healthy range. An acre-foot is almost 326,000 gallons.
Curtis, who has represented Utah’s 3rd Congressional District since 2017, is not running for reelection, instead vying to replace outgoing Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney.
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