Great Salt Lake water levels hit all-time low amidst western drought 

The suburban lifestyle is not realistic in places like this. Everyone wants a giant house in the middle of nowhere with two cars, a lawn, and strip malls. But you are destroying these places by living like that.

You know what sounds like a good start? Close down all golf courses, get rid of the grass, plant native trees and shrubs

The lake was filled to over flowing in 1983. The population was 1.4 million. Today it’s at its lowest level. The population is 3.4 million. I wonder if all that growth and development could have anything to do with this?

Living in the desert SW is possible because of the progress we have made. In the 1800’s no one settled in Death Valley or built towns in a desert because if there wasn’t water near by there was no way to survive. Now we have big cities with golf courses, lawns, thousands of people and farming consuming water. Well it can’t keep going like this before there isn’t any water for them. Or food. Cities will shrink and some might even become ghost towns.

clearly people arent interested in anything but right now - water sources drying up - rain forests being chopped down - no water no oxygen - hum sounds like end of life to me. wise up folks!

Deserts & Dry Mountains can only support small populations... However, money!!! 🏡💵

A significant amount of the Great Salt Lake's water comes from the Bear River. The water from this river ends in the Great Salt Lake and doesn't flow into the ocean. More and more of the Bear River's water is being diverted for human and industrial use though and this partially accounts for the the decreasing level in addition to the drought. This was not mentioned in the video.

The beginning of the end… in the near future fresh water will be the most precious thing on earth.

You live in a desert, You (knowingly) plant things that require far more water then the climate provides. It's not climate change. It's people who want more from the environment then it can provide.

UT gov appointing a flood irrigation practitioner to water conservation? Makes as much sense as a green lawn in a drought.

Scientist said this was going to happen 40 years ago and people didn’t listen. There is not much you could do to fix this situation right now. The toxic dust coming from the lake bed is going to be another problem people there may be a mass migration in the next few years from this area.

Unfortunately we are too late. We can still help the situation be less extreme but the real damage has already happened. Same with the Colorado River.

The water levels with the drought is becoming very concerning. Everyone should be concerned about it in all states.

Keep building....the ignorance of all this is astonishing....and these folks acting like it's a new thing 20 years in is just wow

A lot of the development in Utah is also what is causing it. The routes that water used to run to get to the Great Salt Lake are no longer there because of all of the housing/stores/apartment complexes that are being built in Utah are either unnaturally rerouting the water or for humans using it.

Thank you for reporting on this critically important story!

People are just starting to realize that first world living standards are not sustainable. How long have people been living this comfortable? Less than 100 years? And look at all the damages done already everywhere.

Emergency level drought and still watering their lawns...... I can see the're on top of this.

One way or the other _the way of life_ will change. If humans don't do it nature will make it happen.

Better water practices and getting rid of that idea that watering the grass is important, is the key to starting small changes. Vertical farming in areas where drought is normal could help, using new forms of hydroponics could help, especially in the west with more daylight hours and warmer temperatures; by using green houses with more natural lighting while having a clean indoor environment. Getting the USDA to get involved more in changing the way we grow could help, especially by expanding the organics program and eventually updating the program to include more growing mediums and proving grants. Proving funding to further better technology and improve renewable farm practices and reducing the farm dependency on large amounts of water. Yucca extract is one thing I always recommend to local gardeners and Facebook gardeners in groups to help reduce water usage and stick to the ORMI for organic uses.

The lake's surface water elevation fell to 4,190 feet on Sunday, according to data from the US Geological Survey - below the previous record set in 2021 and the lowest it has ever been since it was first measured in the mid-1800s. Before last year, the lake's low record was 4,191.4 feet in October 1963.Jul 6, 2022

So much for Morman Paradise..

no no no . let Utah citizens keep electing politicians that tell you that climate change doesn't exist let them keep telling you that we as the human race cant change our behavior to slow or stop it. keep electing those republicans who tell you that your eyes are not seeing what you are actually are seeing with your own eyes

5 generations of entitled water "rights" in one person. Definitely, put him in charge.

Can we rename it average salt lake now.

I was 11 years old in 1968 when our family went from Wichita Kansas to Seattle where our dad was working for Boeing. One of the stops along the way was the Great Salt Lake... And I remember swimming in the lake... It was weird and I am sad knowing that my grandson probably wont get the same chance I did

Outlaw the green lawns! You can landscape without it, beautifully.

Nauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuught gonna happen. We're 'Mericans. We don't prevent problems, we only fix them after they broke; if we feel like it.

The issue with the GSL is much the same as the Aral Sea. The only solution is to stop diverting the rivers that feed the lake. The environment in that valley is a huge water cycle. Evaporation creates the 500" of snowfall in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Which melts and fills the lake, which evaporates, and the cycle continues. The biggest disruptor is population growth. It is simply unsustainable.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to check the actual air quality in the city? Seems to make a wee bit more sense.

You know...that NSA mass database facility uses A LOT of water as coolant for those SuperComputer Systems. How much water would be saved if they were cut off?

Less water in the lake means less snow in the mountains means less tourism means less money

I lived there for a decade. Water is sacred there. Water routes are written into the state constitution and can't be changed. Back in the day farmers killed each over messing with another's water.

Which states close to Utah has unlimited supplies of water: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana... plenty of water. Build a aqua duct stop sending money to other countries

I don't always grow crops, but when I do, I grow water intensive crops. Stay thirsty, my friends.

Wonder what’s causing lack of snow melt in the mountains. It’s like it’s too warm around the globe to have more snow…

The arsenic is a fine glacial loam. That means it's blown in and the waterways need dredging. They never once dredged any of these waterholes. There's fissures underneath the waters drain into. Like huge empty caves underground that rise up higher when there's no water. Got to seal them off.

Well here a simple equation. No water equals no people. So if the lake dries up no problem. There going to be a new crop of emptying citys and towns in the next 5 to 10 years if the drought does not break. Cape town in South Africa taps just went dry.

The reporter has no idea what’s going on? Get another job.

Is there something that could be sprayed on the dry lake bed to keep the dust down?

It's insane to think of the water wasted on Lawns and Power Washing the house over the last 20 years... People are Stupid, Govt is Stupid...

This drought could be a disaster and people don’t even realize it

It’s not going to get any better with runaway development. you can’t rely on snowfall any longer. You’re gonna need a pipeline from another state to get water and good luck with that

I grew up in Utah. It's a beautiful place but there is grass on every lawn, park, and government/commercial property that GUZZLES water and the people stubbornly aren't okay with yellow lawns in a DESERT. It's not just people that depend on that water, it is numerous eco systems and species, but those in power will not do what is necessary to conserve the requisite amounts of water. They are in complete denial

The green lawns are so many and the fact they are required is not going to allow us to keep the Salt Lake

This lake didn't start drying up after People started driving cars you know...this was an Inland Sea millions of years before Lucy decided to come down from a tree...

Will my State give up on the Bear River Project for future development? No. Ag uses flood irrigation for corn and center pivot for alfalfa in the 2nd driest State in the Country. When you fly into SLC what do you see? A sea of non native green grass. What State has the cheapest water rates in the Country? You guessed it. What State battles ID for the greatest water use per person? Right again. Utah....where the 1950s still rule.

People keep building in the southwest because others are foolish enough to buy. They just assume things will work out or somehow water will be provided. My neighbors (here on the shores of Lake Michigan) recently moved to Phoenix and I could only wish them good luck. I wanted to say "Are you nuts? It's in the worst drought in 1,200 years!"

I think it is extremely valuable to be able to collect the rain that falls on the surface of the sea now. Why don't we build huge roof systems by converting large pet bottles. 1_ build a very long sea pier 2_ cover with special patented plastic ( recycling of large plastic bottles ) 3_ divert water into huge cisterns 4_ istanbul basillica cistern is 140 meters and 70 meters. It can hold more than 100000 tons of water. So quickly we must find the best method to collect the water which rains on the sea s . Plastic ? Using retired old ships ? Or whatever you guess ??

So, where does the NSA pull water from? It uses tens of millions of gallons of water in a single day. Since it's building in 2014, it has used over a billion gallons. I can't find anything anywhere on where it pulls that massive amount of water from. And the one in dugway is not the only one.

Local leaders need to step up and do the right thing

IF THE ASTRONAUTS CAN RECYLE WATER OVER AND OVER, WE MUST START USING THE SAME METHOD !!!!

Looks like somebody drained the ocean to uncover its secrets

"Desert Southwest" reverting to its normal form. Nothing we can do about it.

Everything is fine! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Grass lawns are not needed anywhere and a waste of water. Annoying lawn mowers!

So sad that something this detrimental, has happened durning 1's lifetime.

Seems like a conflict of interest for the farmer to get that job.

We have to give up everything we have. But I think it's too late, the way humans live now is what's killing the planet.

Be smart Utah it's a beautiful state

They should put like water fountains in the deserts 😐

I live in SLC, and calling this a consequence of climate change is purely propaganda. Climate change is real, but the reality is that poor water practices are to blame for the salt lake drying up. There is a reason that green lawns don't naturally exist in in this area. The only solution is to reduce water usage, and that will restore the salt lake water levels and increase the snow pack in the Wasatch Range (the mountains to the east of SLC). Actions we should take (in no particular order): 1) Say goodbye to golf courses, green lawns, fountains, and plant species that are not native. Watering the ground should not be legal. 2) Reconsider what types of farming can be done in the valley. Growing crops or raising animals that require high water usage should be phased out so that farmers have time to switchover to another profitable crop that uses less water. 3) Authorities in this area should use a simple pareto analysis to determine what is using the most water and implement specific legislation to cut water usage. (This is a multi county and multi city problem, so this won't be easy to implement.)

The best solution is too just build on the lakebed. It’s not coming back so lets extend our city westward. This would help solve our homeless crisis.

Remedial efforts to conserve water are decades too late. 😪

More people moving to a desert... in record drought. What could go wrong?

How much did they insist Newsom build more reservoirs?

Arsenic ?? Is there a chip manufacturer in the watershed of the Great Salt lake ?

BUT the Billionaires want to go to Mars & waste $44B to buy Twitter. Not to put it into the environment. 😨

If there is arsenic in the dust storms wouldn't there be arsenic in the water also?

In a related development ... Salt Lake City is hitting all time high populations ...

Kinda think there is a set amount of water on the earth. If it's not here, it's somewhere else. It didn't just vanish. Maybe ocean levels are increasing because water is being deposited elsewhere.

How was she just there but had no idea? How unobservant can you be?

It's not toxic gases from the salt deposits drying up

Dont they evaporate the lake water to harvest salt? But go after the farmers?

Much of the water that flows into the Great Salt Lake is recycled by lake effect precipitation that falls as snow and rain in the nearby Wasatch Mountains. The larger the surface area of the lake is the more water that falls in the mountains. A cycle that I’m sure the original inhabitants of this area were well aware of.

Here too.

Does this drought have anything to do with the massive underground cisterns that Nevada built during 2008 to 2016?

Salt flats can surprise development in Lithium batteries. Lithium in small amounts resides in salt water , so evaporated salt water is very much condensed source of lithium. 🤔 . This might be a good thing.

They change when they have to choose between food and green lawns.

There's at most one million, not "millions", in that region. If you REALLY REALLY REALLY stretch it out, you can get to about 1.2 million, which is still NOT MILLIONS. You cannot be trusted to even do cursory research.

Since the big VX nerve agent release in 2010 2011 we have been trying to restore the depth of atmosphere and this effort in face of repeated massive releases of halogenated vinyl like Lontrel 24 di agent Orange and VX chemical weapons the drought has been prolonged.

Apparently those scientists have never heard of ATV's

How many tributaries have been diverted to other places!!! California has this problem too. Where water used to flow in have been rerouted elsewhere. Causes big problems!!!

People shouldn’t live in a desert. You can build dams, but nature always wins.

Vegas is going to get dust storms also!

Utah farmers growing water intensive crops while irrigating in the least efficient way possible... Prepare to reap what you sow!

wasting water growing cows that we could live without. Farmers waste water all over growing stuff we dont need

Great Salt Lake is NOT in the current drought area. Every area of northern Utah is above average for this water year to date. What you are experiencing is water usage. It could well be that with climate change it is hotter and hence lawn and farm are pulling extra water from the Bear, Jordan, and Weber Rivers.. But,,, the Great Salt Lake is shrinking because of profligate use. Use less water. Cite www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/ut_wytdprecpctnormal.pdf

Salt because it stays so full of water all throughout time, right? Cyclical.

I salute this farmer.

They are desaling ocean water in California somewhere and they are not wanting to put the brine water back into the ocean cause it's too salty. Why don't they pipe that over? Or is that what they are planning to pipe over?

Couldn’t happen to a better group of people

That's another Salton sea in Southern California.

Arsenic??? Under water? I'm learning something new everyday.

No more flood irrigation! They need to switch to more targeted watering practices.

Ban flood irrigation

Commmon sense is not so common… I’ve heard they are “praying” for water, so that’s about the extent of knowledge about conservation…and I was just on the lake and had no idea 😂…seriously??!!! Girl, you’ve been in the city WAY TOO LONG

Wonder how much lithium is in that salt

at 5:24, 'a way of life' ?! WHAT way is that.? 'irrigation farmers' or 'people who water useless plants; and who may be legally required to do so'. bleh

like the Aral Sea, or the backlands of Astrahan, it will turn into a salt desert, the winds blowing poisonous salts all over the fields and into peoples eyes..