January 02, 2025

How much water flows to the Great Salt Lake? New streamgages might have the answer, officials say.

Click here to read the full article from the Salt Lake Tribune.
From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Before a newly installed streamgage went into the North Fork Weber River, the closest measuring device to the Great Salt Lake was in Plain CityThat gage is about 10 miles from the lake, said Deputy Great Salt Lake Commissioner Tim Davis, adding streamgages along the Bear and Jordan rivers also aren’t close to the lake.

“We basically had our backs turned to the lake” when streamgages went in, Davis said. “Historically, water that got to the lake was seen as wasted.”

There’s been a lack of information about exactly how much water is flowing to the lake, he said, but the state has started to realize the importance of better data over the past five years. Officials have dedicated millions to figuring out the gaps in measurement, and now filling them — including $3 million from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to install and maintain 13 streamgages. The state will use $1 million more each year to install dozens more measuring devices in tributaries, said Deputy State Engineer Blake Bingham.

More than 200 additional devices are necessary to ensure water is getting where it needs to go and understand how it flows through the massive lake basin, Bingham said.

“It’s critical,” he said. “You can’t manage what you can’t measure, and I think that’s the theme of the last few years.”

The implementation of these streamgages marks a significant milestone in the wake of recent policy changes and perceptions of the Lake. FRIENDS advocates for continued funding and support of new programs that deliver more water to the Lake, and we applaud the work of the Commissioner's Office, Utah Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Geological Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to better measure those inflows.