Human activity has deprived the lake of necessary resources, causing water levels to plunge to dangerously lows levels and threatening the basin’s unique ecology, the groups argued.
The lawsuit accuses state officials of breaching the state’s public trust obligations to Utah’s citizens by neglecting to take the action necessary to address a looming crisis.
Since 2020, both climate change and upstream diversions for agriculture, homes and industry have contributed to a yearly deficit of more than 1 million acre-feet of water, according to the groups.
For reference, a typical suburban U.S. household uses about 1 acre-foot of water each year.
Meanwhile, the lake’s elevation recently plummeted to nearly 4,188 feet above sea level, or 10 feet below the minimum health threshold identified by scientists, the plaintiffs noted.
“This already dire situation threatens to get worse,” the lawsuit argues.
Among the plaintiffs — represented by Earthjustice and the Zimmerman Booher law firm — are Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, the American Bird Conservancy, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and the Utah Rivers Council.
In suing the state, the groups are seeking a court order that would direct Utah’s leaders to implement solutions that could provide enough water to the Great Salt Lake to sustain the people and wildlife who rely upon it.
Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, cited cautionary tales from around the world, in which saline lakes have collapsed due to upstream diversions, in a statement accompanying the lawsuit.
“The end result has been public health disasters from the clouds of relentless toxic dust,” Moench said. “Utah’s leaders are prioritizing these water diversions over protecting their own people, so the courts must intervene.”
Not only does the Great Salt Lake provide habitats for more than 10 million migratory birds, but the basin also supports brine shrimp fishing, tourism, recreation and skiing, according to the groups.
These industries, the lawsuit argued, contribute billions of dollars to Utah’s economy and provide thousands of jobs.
“The Great Salt Lake belongs to the people of Utah and the state has a legal obligation to protect this resource,” Stu Gillespie, a senior attorney for Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain office, said in a statement.
As the lake’s water levels have depleted, sediments containing fine particulate matter and other toxic pollutants have become exposed to the air and could be carried by the wind, the plaintiffs noted.
Among the compounds found in the lakebed are arsenic and mercury, which could be inhaled by the millions of people who live in the lake’s vicinity, according to the groups.
The Hill reached out to the named defendants — the Department of Natural Resources, as well as the Division of Water Rights and the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands — for comment.
