Utah Lake. A beautiful one hundred forty-five square mile freshwater lake with a rich history and hundreds of different species of fish and birds. However, behind all this beauty, several issues could ultimately take away this beautiful lake and historical landmark of Utah. In this paper, I will explore these issues, especially the ongoing controversy over the Utah Lake Restoration Project also known as the LRS.
So what exactly are the current issues plaguing Utah Lake? Utah Lake like many things in nature has been susceptible to a variety of issues. One example is when the lake dried out in 1930 and as a result, has taken us years to recover. Over the years as humans have polluted the lake and with global warming the water is heating and bringing about the recurrent problem of the lake called algae blooms. Algae bloom according to “Getting to know the Utah Lake Ecosystem” (composed by several different environmental scientists at Brigham Young University), are the result of over-fertilization and in turn “can produce powerful toxins that can sicken people and animals who are exposed to the water” as well as “overgrowth can create so much organic material that oxygen gets depleted in the water, creating a dead zone where no other fish or other animals can survive.” However, it’s not all bad news according to them. Over 75% of these algae blooms have been removed (see the “Algae Harvesting” contribution to this site). What about the other 25%, however? Who says that this problem won’t get worse especially since global warming is becoming worse and the water will heat up even more providing a perfect environment for the bacteria and algae to reproduce? As we look at all these questions people all over are trying to restore and protect this historic lake. One of these proposed projects is called the Utah Lake Restoration Project or known as the LRS for short. It is a project that ultimately aims to deepen the lakebed, create islands, restore the ecosystem, and enhance the community according to their official website. (Utah Lake Restoration Project – A comprehensive solution to address the challenges Utah Lake faces (lakerestorationsolutions.com))
According to their official website, they want to deepen the lakebed to “remove contaminated lakebed material, improve water clarity and quality, and create conditions for further ecosystem restoration.” Their ultimate goal is to create islands to enhance the community to “improve and increase habitat, increase access for recreation, and provide a sustainable living to pay for restoration costs.” The most significant controversies surrounding this project are the money and the ulterior motives of this restoration project. Some people believe they only want to build islands to make money. Some also worry that this plan could backfire and damage the lake's ecosystem even more which in turn would leave a massive debt of 6 billion!
The main plan of LRS as stated above is to dredge the lake. They claim that will “deepen the lake, remove nutrient-loaded sediments, and creator cleaner water.” However actual scientific studies revoke all of these promised claims. Their response to this was that dredging/constructing in and around the lake would “destroy 95% of the lake bed and permanently alter the lake’s hydrology, chemistry, and biology.” Instead of cleaning the lake the newly “innovated” lake, would render “Utah Lake permanently dependent on costly human interventions.” So in other words that means “invasive and costly dredging would provide no environmental benefit while causing massive habitat destruction, water quality degradation, permanent loss of the lake’s resilience, and decades of missed restoration and recreation potential.” Since it's been scientifically proven that dredging the lake would be extremely harmful it’s really hard to see the point of this drastic project especially since the lake is not as in danger as the LRS makes it out to be. According to many different scientists and specialists alike like Jaime Barnes the director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands states that “I think, over time, we’ve seen Utah Lake improving” and “there’s a lot of things currently being done on Utah Lake to improve and enhance the quality of the lake. I think that’s what we need to continue to do - we need to look at all options to enhance the quality of Utah Lake and to make it a functioning ecosystem.” I completely agree. The research article from BYU states that “over the past 35 years, the overall amount and duration of blooms have decreased, likely due to improved wastewater treatment and restoration of water flow to the lake.” Instead of taking drastic action and dredging the lake, making islands, etc., they came up with a simpler way to help us as a community preserve and protect the lake such that we can “establish more natural water quantity and quality to restore some of the extirpated species and work to manage the invasive species such as carp and phragmites.”
I would also like to mention another controversy surrounding the LRS surrounding BYU professor Ben Abbott who was sued by LRS for $3 million for “defamation, false light, and intentional interference with prospective economic relations.” In other words, he was accused by the LRS of spreading false information. Claims such as that “LRS had no PhD-level scientists on its team and its funding came from “shady” foreign sources in Dubai.” Despite the LRS protests made by their attorney ultimately the judge concluded that “the scientist’s negative statements about the company were factually sound.” I mean it’s hard to argue with an actual scientist who has years of experience and has been researching Utah Lake and it is not just him and claim that the project is “not grounded in science and could further degrade the lake.”
Throughout this research paper, they even talk about even more risks and environmental impacts that come with this extreme project. Based on that alone I believe it would be wise to focus on other projects instead of taking on this controversial and not to mention questioning project. Some examples of this are cleaning up and killing the toxic algae as well as other projects like the Provo River Delta Project, a project that aims to restore a naturally functioning river lake for endangered species like the June sucker and doing this can help the many different fish living in the lake. In other words, many projects are being done to take care of and clean up the lake. Knowing this I think it is in our best interests as a community to take action by helping clean up the lake to fix what’s right. I think that this is something that everyone can agree on instead of the drastic, controversial, and expensive Utah Lake Restoration Project.
In conclusion, I do not support the Utah Lake Restoration Project because of a lot of different factors. For example, it’s hard to justify their proposal considering that according to actual scientists Utah Lake is getting better, and with the multiple projects to clean the lake, it’s not perfect but it is improving. So why do we need to take super drastic meggers with a $6 billion project that could ultimately fail? Not to mention why do we need islands? I feel like it’s just a way for them to make money which I think is insulting because of the rich history and beauty of Utah Lake. Not to mention with all the science-backed up the project does not prove to be effective and could damage the lake even further.
So what exactly are the current issues plaguing Utah Lake? Utah Lake like many things in nature has been susceptible to a variety of issues. One example is when the lake dried out in 1930 and as a result, has taken us years to recover. Over the years as humans have polluted the lake and with global warming the water is heating and bringing about the recurrent problem of the lake called algae blooms. Algae bloom according to “Getting to know the Utah Lake Ecosystem” (composed by several different environmental scientists at Brigham Young University), are the result of over-fertilization and in turn “can produce powerful toxins that can sicken people and animals who are exposed to the water” as well as “overgrowth can create so much organic material that oxygen gets depleted in the water, creating a dead zone where no other fish or other animals can survive.” However, it’s not all bad news according to them. Over 75% of these algae blooms have been removed (see the “Algae Harvesting” contribution to this site). What about the other 25%, however? Who says that this problem won’t get worse especially since global warming is becoming worse and the water will heat up even more providing a perfect environment for the bacteria and algae to reproduce? As we look at all these questions people all over are trying to restore and protect this historic lake. One of these proposed projects is called the Utah Lake Restoration Project or known as the LRS for short. It is a project that ultimately aims to deepen the lakebed, create islands, restore the ecosystem, and enhance the community according to their official website. (Utah Lake Restoration Project – A comprehensive solution to address the challenges Utah Lake faces (lakerestorationsolutions.com))
According to their official website, they want to deepen the lakebed to “remove contaminated lakebed material, improve water clarity and quality, and create conditions for further ecosystem restoration.” Their ultimate goal is to create islands to enhance the community to “improve and increase habitat, increase access for recreation, and provide a sustainable living to pay for restoration costs.” The most significant controversies surrounding this project are the money and the ulterior motives of this restoration project. Some people believe they only want to build islands to make money. Some also worry that this plan could backfire and damage the lake's ecosystem even more which in turn would leave a massive debt of 6 billion!
The main plan of LRS as stated above is to dredge the lake. They claim that will “deepen the lake, remove nutrient-loaded sediments, and creator cleaner water.” However actual scientific studies revoke all of these promised claims. Their response to this was that dredging/constructing in and around the lake would “destroy 95% of the lake bed and permanently alter the lake’s hydrology, chemistry, and biology.” Instead of cleaning the lake the newly “innovated” lake, would render “Utah Lake permanently dependent on costly human interventions.” So in other words that means “invasive and costly dredging would provide no environmental benefit while causing massive habitat destruction, water quality degradation, permanent loss of the lake’s resilience, and decades of missed restoration and recreation potential.” Since it's been scientifically proven that dredging the lake would be extremely harmful it’s really hard to see the point of this drastic project especially since the lake is not as in danger as the LRS makes it out to be. According to many different scientists and specialists alike like Jaime Barnes the director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands states that “I think, over time, we’ve seen Utah Lake improving” and “there’s a lot of things currently being done on Utah Lake to improve and enhance the quality of the lake. I think that’s what we need to continue to do - we need to look at all options to enhance the quality of Utah Lake and to make it a functioning ecosystem.” I completely agree. The research article from BYU states that “over the past 35 years, the overall amount and duration of blooms have decreased, likely due to improved wastewater treatment and restoration of water flow to the lake.” Instead of taking drastic action and dredging the lake, making islands, etc., they came up with a simpler way to help us as a community preserve and protect the lake such that we can “establish more natural water quantity and quality to restore some of the extirpated species and work to manage the invasive species such as carp and phragmites.”
I would also like to mention another controversy surrounding the LRS surrounding BYU professor Ben Abbott who was sued by LRS for $3 million for “defamation, false light, and intentional interference with prospective economic relations.” In other words, he was accused by the LRS of spreading false information. Claims such as that “LRS had no PhD-level scientists on its team and its funding came from “shady” foreign sources in Dubai.” Despite the LRS protests made by their attorney ultimately the judge concluded that “the scientist’s negative statements about the company were factually sound.” I mean it’s hard to argue with an actual scientist who has years of experience and has been researching Utah Lake and it is not just him and claim that the project is “not grounded in science and could further degrade the lake.”
Throughout this research paper, they even talk about even more risks and environmental impacts that come with this extreme project. Based on that alone I believe it would be wise to focus on other projects instead of taking on this controversial and not to mention questioning project. Some examples of this are cleaning up and killing the toxic algae as well as other projects like the Provo River Delta Project, a project that aims to restore a naturally functioning river lake for endangered species like the June sucker and doing this can help the many different fish living in the lake. In other words, many projects are being done to take care of and clean up the lake. Knowing this I think it is in our best interests as a community to take action by helping clean up the lake to fix what’s right. I think that this is something that everyone can agree on instead of the drastic, controversial, and expensive Utah Lake Restoration Project.
In conclusion, I do not support the Utah Lake Restoration Project because of a lot of different factors. For example, it’s hard to justify their proposal considering that according to actual scientists Utah Lake is getting better, and with the multiple projects to clean the lake, it’s not perfect but it is improving. So why do we need to take super drastic meggers with a $6 billion project that could ultimately fail? Not to mention why do we need islands? I feel like it’s just a way for them to make money which I think is insulting because of the rich history and beauty of Utah Lake. Not to mention with all the science-backed up the project does not prove to be effective and could damage the lake even further.
Works Cite
Williams, Carter. “$6B Utah Lake Restoration Project Is ' Unconstitutional,’ State Report Finds - Deseret News.” Deseret News, 23 Aug. 2022, www.deseret.com/utah/2022/8/22/23317453/utah-lake-islands-unconstitutional.
Kallers. “Home.” Utah Lake Restoration Project, lakerestorationsolutions.com.
“Provo River Delta Restoration Project.” Provo River Delta Restoration Project, www.provoriverdelta.us.
“Utah Lake FAQs.” Plant & Wildlife Sciences, pws.byu.edu/utah-lake/about-utah-lake.
“BYU Environmental Advocates Take Stand Against Utah Lake Development.” The Daily Universe, 11 Jan. 2022,
universe.byu.edu/2022/01/10/byu-professors-alumni-and-students-take-a-stand-against-utah-lake-development.
BYU. “Utah Lake Island Application Lacks Restoration Plan and Fails to Demonstrate Benefits or Need.” Utah Lake
Island Response, pws.byu.edu/utah-lake-island-response.
“Judge Tosses Utah Lake Dredger’s Defamation Suit Against Scientist, Ruling It Abused the Legal System.” The Salt
Lake Tribune, 26 Jan. 2023, www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2023/01/25/judge-toss-utah-lake-dredgers.
Kallers. “Home.” Utah Lake Restoration Project, lakerestorationsolutions.com.
“Provo River Delta Restoration Project.” Provo River Delta Restoration Project, www.provoriverdelta.us.
“Utah Lake FAQs.” Plant & Wildlife Sciences, pws.byu.edu/utah-lake/about-utah-lake.
“BYU Environmental Advocates Take Stand Against Utah Lake Development.” The Daily Universe, 11 Jan. 2022,
universe.byu.edu/2022/01/10/byu-professors-alumni-and-students-take-a-stand-against-utah-lake-development.
BYU. “Utah Lake Island Application Lacks Restoration Plan and Fails to Demonstrate Benefits or Need.” Utah Lake
Island Response, pws.byu.edu/utah-lake-island-response.
“Judge Tosses Utah Lake Dredger’s Defamation Suit Against Scientist, Ruling It Abused the Legal System.” The Salt
Lake Tribune, 26 Jan. 2023, www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2023/01/25/judge-toss-utah-lake-dredgers.