- President Donald Trump seeks $1 billion for Great Salt Lake restoration in his proposed federal budget.
- Funds would enhance infrastructure, improve water flow and remove invasive species, Utah leaders say.
- Congressional approval is uncertain, but Utah hopes to land support.
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.
SALT LAKE CITY — President Donald Trump joined the push to protect the Great Salt Lake this year, even including $1 billion for Great Salt Lake restoration in his proposed budget for the next fiscal year.
That request, unveiled last week, follows meetings he had with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on the issue. Other state leaders and officials also met with federal agencies, where the $1 billion figure was floated around.
"The lake is currently under threat and requires a comprehensive federal program, led by (the Department of Interior), to ensure its long-term sustainability and to support the robust economic and ecological contributions that the lake makes to Utah, the region, and the nation," the document states, adding that the lake is a "critical economic and ecological asset" for the U.S.
If approved by Congress, the item would call on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency to assist in investments and partnerships that improve lake levels and its ecosystem.
How would the money be spent?
Utah's request revolves around programs that already exist, while also creating new ways to get water to the lake, said Joel Ferry, director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, whose many agencies track everything from the lake's health to its wildlife habitats and mineral extractions.
"We broke it down into three or four categories. ... These are big chunks, big rocks, big moves that we can make to make a big difference," he explained.
New infrastructure is one of these categories. This includes a project to send water stranded in the Newfoundland Evaporation Basin back toward the lake, essentially engineering a solution to a completely different lake problem.
A series of dykes and other infrastructure were built west of the lake when the state was focused on pumping water out to avoid flooding from the lake's record-high levels in the 1980s. It's estimated that 30,000 to 100,000 acre-feet or more of water doesn't make it to the lake every year because it's trapped in the current system, depending on the water year.
"If we reverse that flow, it will bring that water back," Ferry said, pointing out that it could produce more than 10% of what's needed every year to get the lake back to a healthy range by the state's goal of 2034.
Utah would look at expanding efforts to remove phragmites and other invasive species with the new money, as well. The state estimates that more than another 100,000 acre-feet is lost to phragmites alone every year.
Federal funding could also help expand existing programs that the state says are in higher demand than what it can afford.
Ferry spoke to KSL after attending an event where the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy agreed to lease 2,500 acre-feet of water every year for the next five to 10 years, which seeks to support lake levels as they continue to drop closer to record-low status. State leaders began this program in 2022, originally with $40 million to buy or lease water rights that are otherwise diverted from the lake.
The money could also go toward existing programs that improve water efficiency through more metering, adding more water-wise landscaping or optimizing agricultural water use.
Agricultural water remains the top consumer of water that would otherwise enter the lake, but municipal and industrial use has become a new "driver" in consumption, largely because of outdoor watering, the Great Salt Lake Strike Team reported earlier this year.
A 'big lift' ahead
It's too early to know if Congress will approve Trump's request. Saving the lake has been a bipartisan issue within Utah for years now, and state leaders hope the president's support may help extend that in Washington.
The Republican-led administration will have secured the most federal money directed to the lake if the measure is approved. It would easily surpass the $50 million toward projects that the Democratic-led Biden administration allocated in its final weeks, which signaled the biggest federal allocation toward lake solutions at the time.
It's all about telling our story and helping other congressional members understand why this is a national issue (and) why the federal government should spend money on this.
–Joel Ferry, director of Utah Department of Natural Resources
It would also exceed the $200 million pledged by a local philanthropic coalition that formed last year.
"With real federal partnership, we can accelerate water flows, restore ecosystems, tackle invasive species and address toxic dust. Now Congress must act," Gov. Spencer Cox said on Friday.
Utah's congressional delegation and various federal agencies will likely lead these discussions while the next federal budget is hammered out, Ferry said.
He's optimistic because Utah's delegation has seats in key committees, such as natural resources, in both chambers.
"We have good people positioned to help us out," he said. "It's all about telling our story and helping other congressional members understand why this is a national issue (and) why the federal government should spend money on this. ... It's going to be a big lift, but we're going to be working diligently toward it."
