If the Great Salt Lake weren't so salty

[dcisive]

yeah indeed that Salton Sea is one horrific garbage dump of a lake. One would see dead birds and other animals around or in it. Sure don't want that around here.

[InSandy]

Originally Posted by altajoe

Any one have an idea of just how much water (rain/snowmelt) is "lost" to the Salt Lake? And, if it were captured in a viable storage, what would that do to alleviating the water shortage that is so omnipresent?

None of it is "lost" to the Great Salt Lake. Much of it is lost "from" the Great Salt Lake.
The Weber is already dammed- Rockport, Echo, East Canyon and Willard Bay reservoirs.
The Provo is dammed (flows into Utah lake and via the Jordan River to GSL)- Jordanelle, Deer Creek.
The Bear river has Cutler reservoir and various irrigation dams
The Jordan has irrigation dams taking water for crops and culinary water.

I once sat by the side of the Little Cottonwood creek during spring runoff and wondered about all the water flowing by and wasn't it a waste to let it just run away. (though there are irrigation and culinary canals taking water from it as well) I've since changed my outlook and realized that if we took all the water from all the streams flowing into the GSL we would end up with a salt flat out there which would be devastating to the wildlife (go out to the Bear River migratory bird refuge some spring and see all the birds that use it as a stopping place on their migration), some of the industry surrounding the lake, as well creating, as has been said, a pollution nightmare.

We can't take all the water that flows into the GSL and expect that will solve our water crisis.

[slomofo]

If the lake were as you described, the lake would be a wet landfill because early Mormon settlers had the tendency to over exploit all natural resources and turn them into absolute crap; Utah Lake is the best example of what I'm talking about.

[dcisive]

as far as Utah lake is concerned the steel mill they finally got rid of was largely responsible for the mess in that lake. The algae bloom there each year that is toxic is yet another thing they don't seem to get a handle on.

[slomofo]

The over fishing of the Lake by early Mormon settlers and the subsequent planting of non-native invasive species of fish (carp), have more to do with the algal blooms than Geneva steel. Currently, the blooms are blamed on pesticides in the runoff from nearby farms, but I personally think the carp should hold the most blame. Carp will eat anything and everything from plankton to other fish, insects, worms, and most importantly, plant life. There's no plant life in the bottom of the lake because the carp ate it all and this causes loose sediment to move freely which is the reason why the lake has lost so much of it's depth over the years. The loose dirt is also the reason why the water in the lake is murky instead of clear. The sheer amount of carp which do nothing but produce waste (affecting PH levels), lack of vegetation, and murky waters preventing sunlight to pass through are the perfect conditions for algal blooms.