Before-and-After Photos Show Lake Disappearing Amid 'Record Lows'

Satellite images taken 37 years apart show a significant impact to Great Salt Lake water levels in Utah amid concerns that plummeting water levels will cause an ecological collapse.

Great Salt Lake water levels have been a concern since they hit a record low in November 2022 as a megadrought grips the region. As of Wednesday, the lake's water levels were just over 4,190 feet—a foot higher than this time last year and a few inches below early February 2022 levels. Dropping water levels spike the lake's salinity, and environmental leaders hope to restore the lake to 4,198 feet to preserve the ecosystem and a brine shrimp industry that feeds millions.

However, environmental law organization Earthjustice believes that falling water levels are mostly attributable to the state's actions rather than drought and climate change. Last week, the organization shared before-and-after photos of the lake taken in 1985 and 2022 to show the lake's decline.

Earthjustice is representing Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, American Bird Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and Utah Rivers Council in a lawsuit filed against the state of Utah last September. The lawsuit accuses the state of failing to take appropriate and necessary action to address the crisis and protect the lake.

"This past year, the Great Salt Lake's water levels hit record lows," Earthjustice posted on X, formerly Twitter, with an image to show the difference 37 years has made to the lake. "Experts predict ecological collapse within 5 years. The main culprit isn't climate change, but the state's willingness to divert 2/3 of the stream/river water feeding into the lake. We're suing to save it."

The first photo, taken in 1985, shows the Great Salt Lake with substantial water levels. In the second photo, taken in 2022, the lake is much smaller, and the outline of where the water levels used to be is visible.

A spokesperson for Earthjustice told Newsweek that the organization is preparing its response to the state's motions to dismiss the complaint while also intending to present a strong argument about the lawsuit's merit.

"There is no silver bullet that will get the Great Salt Lake to a healthy range and sustain it. It took decades for the lake to decline to the record-low level it hit last year," Great Salt Lake Deputy Commissioner Tim Davis told Newsweek in a statement.

"All parties agree that it will take many years to get it back to a healthy range. The state of Utah, through the Great Salt Lake commissioner, adopted the Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan that lays out steps we will be taking to get the lake back to a healthy range and sustain it. The Great Salt Lake Commissioner's Office is focused on implementing the actions in the strategic plan."

Last year, Brian Steed was appointed as Great Salt Lake commissioner tasked with preparing a strategic plan for restoring the lake. Steed presented the plan in January, when he outlined a three-pronged approach spanning short-term, medium-term and long-term actions to address the lake's decline. However, Earthjustice slammed the plan as "inadequate" and argued that it lacked specific action to save the lake.

"The state needs to ensure significantly more water reaches the Great Salt Lake to prevent an ecological collapse and public-health crisis. Yet, it refuses to supervise and, where necessary, modify upstream water diversions that are draining the lake," Stu Gillespie, senior attorney with Earthjustice's Rocky Mountain Office, told Newsweek.

"That not only ignores the source of the problem; it is a clear-cut abdication of the state's duties as public trustee. Any plan that fails to address those diversions—which are the overwhelming cause of the Great Salt Lake's decline—amounts to tinkering around the edges."

Update 2/7/2024, 1:14 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Tim Davis and Stu Gillespie.