Editor’s note: This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative , a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake . The Great Salt Lake has lost about 2 feet over the past few months, but it’s about to get another boost from its southern neighbor.
The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy announced Monday that it plans to release about 10,000 acre-feet of water from Utah Lake over the next month, sending more water to the Great Salt Lake via the Jordan River, which connects the two bodies of water. It’s part of an agreement with the Great Salt Lake Enhancement Trust.
“It’s frankly remarkable,” said Marcelle Schoop, executive director of the trust, as she stood near floodgates controlling the Jordan River’s headwaters Monday morning. “We are all very excited.”
The forthcoming water deliveries follow similar releases from Utah Lake earlier this year ; however, the previous deliveries aimed to prevent flooding during the spring snowmelt period while the new releases are specific water donations.