Comment on the draft Utah Water Resources Plan

Utah’s Division of Water Resources has drafted a Water Resources Plan that is open for public review and comment until November 15th. One piece of the plan is the Bear River Development Project, which aims to dam the Bear River (the Great Salt Lake’s major freshwater tributary) to store water for the projected future growth and development in Northern Utah. The project would destroy the most important bird habitat in the Western Hemisphere and would be disastrous for regional air quality. I urge anyone who cares about the lake to tell the Utah Division of Water Resources that sustaining and preserving the Great Salt Lake must be top priority, and that actions by the state of Utah and the Division of Water Resources (including the Bear River Development Project) that further deplete the Great Salt Lake by any amount are unacceptable.

You can read the Utah Division of Water Resources Plan here: https://water.utah.gov/2021waterplan/

Comment on the plan (especially Chapters 5 and 6) here: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/5b117eb2fe1546769caf4ffa416b4f5f

Read the comments made by Friends of Great Salt Lake here: https://www.fogsl.org/newsroom/item/935-comments-on-draft-water-resources-plan

Here’s what I wrote (Chapter 5, Projects): The Water Resources Plan does not acknowledge that the Bear River Development Project and the Great Salt Lake cannot coexist. If the Bear River Development Project is built, the lake, which is already on the verge of ecosystem collapse, will be depleted at least another 8.5 inches below its current historic low level. Further depletion of the Great Salt Lake will endanger the health of millions of Americans due to toxic dust pollution, and will destroy the most important bird habitat in the American West. Sustaining and preserving the Great Salt Lake is a matter of public trust and must be top priority. Any actions by the state of Utah and the Division of Water Resources that further deplete the Great Salt Lake (including the Bear River Development Project) are unacceptable. Instead, the Division of Water Resources should plan to meet the needs of current and future Utah residents by implementing more robust and comprehensive water conservation programs, policies and incentives.