What are best options for controlling GSL dust, and what would they cost?

A new report from University of Utah researchers, coordinated by the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy, details the growing risks and costs of dust from exposed lakebed in Great Salt Lake. Commissioned by the Utah Division of Water Resources for the Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan, the report provides valuable data to help state planners make informed decisions about dust control measures.

Lead author Kevin Perry, an atmospheric sciences professor at the University of Utah, emphasizes the importance of strategic, data-driven approaches to address dust. Using better data can help identify the highest-risk areas, protect vulnerable communities, and stabilize the lake where necessary. Currently, more than 800 square miles of lakebed are exposed to wind erosion, with active dust hotspots potentially expanding to 187 square miles if protective surface crusts degrade or groundwater levels decline.

The report highlights that the state faces costs whether it acts or fails to act. Pursuing lake-level stabilization and targeted engineered controls is recommended as a complementary strategy, not an alternative. Lake-level stabilization is seen as the most durable, long-term approach to reducing dust at its source by covering exposed playa and reducing dust-generating surfaces.

Higher lake levels could lower average dust exposure in northern Utah by 15%, with reductions exceeding 50% for some communities. The report concludes that a phased, evidence-based approach to dust management, considering community-level exposure and population vulnerability, is the most sensible way forward.