The lake ended 2025 with the third-lowest water level in a century.
Utah’s Great Salt Lake ended 2025 with the third-lowest water level in a century, prompting concerns about dust from the exposed lakebed that can degrade air quality across the Wasatch Front.
As Nicholas Vincent explains in One Green Planet, the lake’s southern arm was at 4,191.1 feet at the end of December, and experts say it would take roughly 261 billion gallons of water to restore the lake.
Proposed solutions for reducing dust emissions include flooding exposed lakebed areas during cooler months, paying farmers to sell their water rights to the lake, and redirecting water from nearby basins. “Utah is also investing in dust monitoring and short-term mitigation projects to curb immediate risks.” According to an article in Deseret News, Utah is investing $150,000 in ongoing dust monitoring after an expert from the University of Utah noted that the state was “severely lacking” in monitoring infrastructure.
FULL STORY: Utah Faces Urgent Health Risks as Great Salt Lake Shrinks
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Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association