The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently announced a permanent donation of 5,700 water shares, equivalent to one foot of water spanning 15,000 football fields, to help preserve the Great Salt Lake.

This comes after news broke of studies showing that the lake would dry up within the next five years.

The Church’s donation is valuable to the lake itself, but also to Utah and much of the West. Below, we take a deeper dive into the economic benefits of the lake, efforts being made to preserve it, and what could happen if Utah loses the lake entirely.

The Lake and Utah’s Economy

The Great Salt Lake’s rich mineral and metal deposits support close to 8,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in annual state revenue and make Utah a leading producer in key industries.

Precipitation caused by the lake supports Utah’s $2.5 billion ski industry by producing nearly 10% of the snowfall over the Wasatch Front, which can extend the annual ski season by up to two months.

What is being done to preserve the lake?

State leaders have called for more resources to restore the lake, following its drastic decline from 3,300 square miles in 1987 to just 950 square miles in 2022.

Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson wrote in a 2021 op-ed: “I only recently came to realize just how dire the situation could become … if we don’t act now to save the Great Salt Lake,” Wilson wrote.

Since 2021, Utah has appropriated nearly half a billion dollars to improve watershed management around the lake, water conservation programs and agricultural optimization.

Senator Mitt Romney co-sponsored a bill, later signed by President Biden, that allocated $25 million to study the preservation of the Great Salt Lake.

What happens if the lake disappears? 

Joel Ferry, executive director of Utah’s Department of Natural Resources, told the New York Times that the disappearance of the lake would be an “environmental nuclear bomb.”

Senator Romney said in an interview with The Washington Post, “If it disappears entirely, the dust will be extraordinary, not just in Utah, but across the country with poisons in the air.”

The Church’s significant donation of their water shares, along with strong snowpack and rainfall in recent months, has provided Utah with breathing room.

Bill Duncan, Sutherland’s religious freedom policy fellow, said in a recent interview, “Everybody benefits from the efforts of the religious community working on this issue.”

Since its historic low last year, the lake has regained 3.3 feet, bringing its elevation to 4,191.8 feet. The Utah Department of Natural Resources lists the lake’s “optimal” level at 4,200 feet.

As Utah and federal legislators work to provide more water and resources to protect and restore the lake, Utahns should work with local leaders in their communities to help preservation efforts as well.

For a more in-depth perspective on this article, read our Insights piece here.