Money from the Inflation Reduction Act marks largest ever federal investment in the Great Salt Lake

The federal government announced its largest investment toward the Great Salt Lake to date on Monday, awarding Utah $50 million to get more water flowing to the lake and help its ecosystem. 

The state has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to save the Great Salt Lake, which hit a historic low in November 2022, and is still below what is considered “healthy.” But Monday’s donation is the first time the federal government has spent this kind of money on the lake.

“This is the type of investment that we so desperately needed,” said Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed. 

The federal funds stem from the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed along party lines in 2022 and included hundreds of billions of dollars for various reforms, program expansions, subsidies and more — Affordable Care Act subsidies, expanding the Internal Revenue Service, investments in green energy and drought infrastructure are included in the bill’s 1,800-plus pages. 

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water systems in the West, received several billion dollars for water projects under the bill. Utah submitted a grant for $10 million of those funds, specifically for leasing water rights for the Great Salt Lake, but on Monday the Bureau announced the state will get $50 million, well exceeding the state’s initial ask. 

“Projects move at the speed of trust, and this is a place where we have a partnership with Utah,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said on Monday. “They’re ready to go on projects, as you just heard, and we are committed to that because a healthy ecosystem here is not just benefiting the Great Salt Lake or the state of Utah, it benefits the Colorado River Basin and the entire West.” 

The Inflation Reduction Act was criticized by many Republicans when it passed, including a coalition of 22 GOP governors, who called the bill “another reckless tax and spending spree.” 

Included among the signees was Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. But on Monday, Cox was excited at the prospect of some of that money coming back to Utah, calling the announcement a “generous gift.” 

“It underscores the commitment that the state of Utah has to the Great Salt Lake, but also our federal partner’s commitment,” Cox said. 

The funds will be split two ways — $40 million will go toward ecosystem restoration projects along the lake, going through the Great Salt Lake Commissioner’s Office, where it will be distributed to appropriate state agencies like the Utah Division of Water Resources, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, or the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. 

The agencies will then use that money to continue to fight phragmites, an invasive reed that grows in wetlands around the lake and improving the berm that separates the lake’s north and south arms. The funds will also go toward waterfowl management areas and other swaths of conserved land along the Great Salt Lake, like Farmington, Ogden or Willard bays, which are vital to the lake’s health and the health of millions of migratory birds that stop there. 

“When those are improved, it then improves the entire body of the lake as well,” said Joel Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources. 

The remaining $10 million will be used to lease water rights from users in the Great Salt Lake Basin, made possible by a bill that Ferry himself sponsored when he was a member of the Utah House of Representatives. 

As water year ends, Great Salt Lake expected to hit annual low

Passed in 2022, HB33 allows the state to lease water from water rights holders in the Great Salt Lake basin, a major step away from the “use it or lose it” mantra of water rights in Utah. Before the bill’s passage, farmers, business owners and other landowners with a water right were often incentivized to use the entire amount of water allocated to them — if they didn’t, they risked losing their water right. 

Now, instead of water being depleted for irrigation or other uses in an attempt to preserve the water right, the state can lease it so water flows to the lake. 

“It could be a proven concept for the entire West,” said Touton on Monday. “We’re really excited about that.” 

With an extra $10 million burning a hole in its pocket, the state will now look to secure more seasonal leases with farmers and other business owners in the Great Salt Lake basin. 

According to Steed, about 130,000 acre-feet has already been leased by the state, and estimates from the Utah Division of Water Rights suggest the state could lease an additional 120,000 acre-feet. For reference, an acre-foot is enough water to submerge an acre of land in one foot of water. 

According to the Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan released earlier this year, the lake needs between 471,000 and 1,055,000 acre-feet of additional water delivered each year for it to reach 4,198 feet in elevation, which is considered the “low end” of the healthy range

On Monday, both the south and north arms of the lake hovered around 4,192 feet. The state considers a healthy range to be between 4,198 to 4,205 feet.