Who wants to move to Salt Lake?

[Smellytele]

As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces 'An Environmental Nuclear Bomb'

SALT LAKE CITY — If the Great Salt Lake, which has already shrunk by two-thirds, continues to dry up, here’s what’s in store: The lake’s flies and brine shrimp would die off — scientists warn it could start as soon as this summer — threatening the 10 million migratory birds that stop at the lake...

www.yahoo.com

 

[thetrailboss]

As the Great Salt Lake Dries Up, Utah Faces 'An Environmental Nuclear Bomb'

SALT LAKE CITY — If the Great Salt Lake, which has already shrunk by two-thirds, continues to dry up, here’s what’s in store: The lake’s flies and brine shrimp would die off — scientists warn it could start as soon as this summer — threatening the 10 million migratory birds that stop at the lake...

www.yahoo.com

No joke. A state legislator literally suggested saving it by building a pipeline from the Pacific.

 

[jimmywilson69]

humans can't have nice things...

We also shouldn't be settling in large desert areas and trying to make them green with lush vegetation.

 

[machski]

At least this article doesn't blame the shrinking lake on just climate change, or even principally on it. I have quite a few friends ask me why I don't live out West (my job allows me to live just about anywhere in CONUS) and I always cite water issues as why. Great region to visit, wouldn't want to settle down there for the long term. Another decade or so and all the large, metro mountain areas are going to get contentious.

 

[jaytrem]

Hmmm, might be a good time to invest in synthetic grass companies.

So we're going to start pumping fresh water from the Missouri west and pumping salt water from the Pacific east.

 

[drjeff]

Hmmm, might be a good time to invest in synthetic grass companies.

So we're going to start pumping fresh water from the Missouri west and pumping salt water from the Pacific east.

Regardless of what may be flowing through them, seems like most any pipeline proposal is going to meet with massive resistance from the environmental lobby.

While we all want clean water and clean air, at times it does seem that the fringe of the environmental lobby does seem to have many ideas they're pushing (or resisting via lengthy, expensive court cases) that are often in opposition to the reality that we are an expanding population and need more, what we define as basica resources, to accomodate for that. I highly doubt that this country, and/or many in the "civilized" world would choose to live the way that roughly half the World's population does, which in on the equivalent of basically the daily electrical consumption that a refrigerator draws, if that.

 

[deadheadskier]

Why not just start with the easiest fix? Charge more for water and stop trying to grow stupid lawns in arid environments? Get rid of the damn golf courses in the deserts while they're at it.

 

[ss20]

Don't worry the governor has a plan- just pray for rain. Duhhhh.

Now that I'm not at Alta all the time and am actually participating in society I'm feeling a lot more of the Mormon influence, especially since my summer work is in Provo/Orem which is very very churchy. Co-workers talking about marriage after knowing a girl for 6 months, and I'm the only person who drinks coffee. Oh myyyyyy.

As for the drought I look a lot more at the reservoir levels, which are still going up in water level while they had already begun plummeting down last year.

Reservoir Levels – Utah Division of Water Resources

water.utah.gov

 

[cdskier]

Why not just start with the easiest fix? Charge more for water and stop trying to grow stupid lawns in arid environments? Get rid of the damn golf courses in the deserts while they're at it.

Reading the article that started this thread I found it absolutely infuriating that one person mentioned in the article stopped watering their lawn trying to conserve water and do the right thing for the environment and was threatened by their HOA to start watering again. This obsession with green lawns is a ridiculous waste of resources.

 

[thetrailboss]

Don't worry the governor has a plan- just pray for rain. Duhhhh.

Now that I'm not at Alta all the time and am actually participating in society I'm feeling a lot more of the Mormon influence, especially since my summer work is in Provo/Orem which is very very churchy. Co-workers talking about marriage after knowing a girl for 6 months, and I'm the only person who drinks coffee. Oh myyyyyy.

As for the drought I look a lot more at the reservoir levels, which are still going up in water level while they had already begun plummeting down last year.

Reservoir Levels – Utah Division of Water Resources

water.utah.gov

Oh God I would not recommend working in the Happy Valley as a gentile.

 

[thetrailboss]

Reading the article that started this thread I found it absolutely infuriating that one person mentioned in the article stopped watering their lawn trying to conserve water and do the right thing for the environment and was threatened by their HOA to start watering again. This obsession with green lawns is a ridiculous waste of resources.

Right?!

 

[jimk]

I'm here to add a little levity to this grim topic.

Me in the summer of 2020 taking a heavy metals bath in the Great Salt Lake:

I'm sitting on a beach chair in about one foot of water and I had to walk about 50 yrds out from the shoreline to get that deep. Very gradual depth change. I believe the deepest the Great Salt Lake gets is only about 10-20 feet despite it's size, 75 miles long, 25 miles wide. My shirt, swimsuit and hat were crusted with salt by the time I left.



From the extent of the nearby mad flats it's clear the lake has receded a great deal from past levels:


I wasn't the only fool out there, the area is very scenic despite any environmental concerns. The water is refreshing on a hot day, but really it's more suitable for sail boating than swimming.



Afterwards I washed off thoroughly in Big Cottonwood Creek:

This is actually an inappropriate joke. This is BCC creek, but technically the public is not allowed to bath in it because it's a drinking water source. I only dipped my toes in it on a 90+ degree day.

 

[thetrailboss]

I'm here to add a little levity to this grim topic.

Me in the summer of 2020 taking a heavy metals bath in the Great Salt Lake:
View attachment 54554
I'm sitting on a beach chair in about one foot of water and I had to walk about 50 yrds out from the shoreline to get that deep. Very gradual depth change. I believe the deepest the Great Salt Lake gets is only about 10-20 feet despite it's size, 75 miles long, 25 miles wide. My shirt, swimsuit and hat were crusted with salt by the time I left.
View attachment 54555


From the extent of the nearby mad flats it's clear the lake has receded a great deal from past levels:
View attachment 54556

I wasn't the only fool out there, the area is very scenic despite any environmental concerns. The water is refreshing on a hot day, but really it's more suitable for sail boating than swimming.

View attachment 54557

Afterwards I washed off thoroughly in Big Cottonwood Creek:
View attachment 54558
This is actually an inappropriate joke. This is BCC creek, but technically the public is not allowed to bath in it because it's a drinking water source. I only dipped my toes in it on a 90+ degree day.

Yes it is very shallow.

 

[NYDB]

Yeah……I’ll take the Atlantic Ocean thanks. Fuck that shit.

I think the jury is still slightly out, but the prevailing theory is that water rights for the west were hashed out during an abnormally wet period.

Now that it has reverted to mean, good luck out there. Especially with majority R leadership.

 

[jaytrem]

I wonded what they'll rename the city? Salt City? Salt No Lake City? TAFKASLC?

 

[jimmywilson69]

yeah the dams were all built during an anomaly they've figured out after the fact. Plus they pilfer every drop out there. to try and live a normal non desert life. It's a pretty poor idea in hindsight...

who wants to raft glen canyon once it's completely empty. I'm in!

It's crazy that in 1983 Glen Canyon Dam was critically close to overtopping and nearly 40 years later its critically close to being unable to generate power.

 

[ss20]

yeah the dams were all built during an anomaly they've figured out after the fact. Plus they pilfer every drop out there. to try and live a normal non desert life. It's a pretty poor idea in hindsight...

who wants to raft glen canyon once it's completely empty. I'm in!

It's crazy that in 1983 Glen Canyon Dam was critically close to overtopping and nearly 40 years later its critically close to being unable to generate power.

Same here in the mid 80s the Great Salt Lake was threatening some highway and some lakeside properties. They installed huge pumps to empty some of the water. As far as I could tell from what I read, a couple wet years in the 80s were all that they were used.

I went to Antelope Island a few weeks ago, it's a state park/island on the Salt Lake. Cool place. Herds of buffalo, an old farming museum, very scenic views. I would recommend it to anyone skiing out here in March or April and wants a low-key non skiing day trip 30ish minutes outside of downtown SLC.

 

[raisingarizona]

Why not just start with the easiest fix? Charge more for water and stop trying to grow stupid lawns in arid environments? Get rid of the damn golf courses in the deserts while they're at it.

Have you ever been to Fountain Hills down in Phoenix? They have a 350 foot tall water fountain that shoots off every hour or something like that, like the old faithful in Yellowstone but with more Disney. It’s literally a big middle finger at ole Ma Nature! Now, I don’t like the green grasses, filled pools, golf courses or millions of people using air conditioning either but I have had a hydrologist tell me that golf courses water usage ain’t squat compared to regular residential use.

The Sonoran desert is pretty damn phenomenal in December, January and February I’ll admit.

 

[ThatGuy]

Something like 80% of water use in the West is for agriculture. Obviously golf courses, lawns and other frivolous things consume water out there (all of which unnecessarily) but our unsustainable practices in farming the desert (alfalfa, almonds, avocados, ect.) need to be re-evaluated. Along with the explosive population growth in places that never supported more than nomadic groups.

 

[ThatGuy]

Agricultural Water Use Efficiency

California is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, and is the major producer of many nuts, fruits, and vegetables. In fact, California is the only producer of 13 commodities and is a top producer of more than 74 different commodities in the U.S. The state exports a huge...

water.ca.gov

Alfalfa - Agricultural Irrigation Water Management

ucmanagedrought.ucdavis.edu

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R44093.pdf