State-sponsored research found the lake would be 11 feet higher if not for water rights and diversions on the lake’s tributary streams, which include the Bear, Weber, Jordan and Provo rivers.
, even with recent storms. Its current elevation is 4,188.6 feet above sea level, according to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge on the railroad causeway bisecting the lake. The lake’s vast amount of exposed lakebed has generated concern about the danger toxic dust poses to the millions of people living along the Wasatch Front. And its rising salinity levels threaten the food chain for millions of migrating birds.
The move appears to have the support of legislators, with House Speaker Brad Wilson and Senate President J. Stuart Adams issuing statements of support. “Today’s announcement by Gov. Cox is a move in the right direction,” Wilson said in the news release. “As state leaders, we are doing everything we can to ensure Utah has enough water to meet our current needs and continue to support a growing and thriving population.”
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