Those differing viewpoints can create problems when protecting the environment and regulating discharges into the lake. Depending on how information surrounding the health of the lake is perceived by the general population, either too much may be done to clean up the lake, or nothing at all will be done.

"The issue is, is it a problem?" Myers said. "And if it is a problem, what do you do about it?"

That is the basic question of all the research being conducted and the reason Myers, along with Dave Barnes, a collections operator for the Central Davis Sewer District, was preparing their fire-engine red hovercraft to go out into Farmington Bay one chilly Friday in October.

"This jim-dandy thing is our research vessel," Myers said.

The sewer district purchased the machine in March to make navigation of the lake much simpler. The hovercraft can travel across land and water, which can be helpful for crossing a lake that has been so low for the past few years that Barnes could drive an ATV more than 7 miles on dry ground across the lake bed.

Across the road from where the hovercraft will launch into the water is the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge. The Great Salt Lake, with its high salt content and breeding grounds for algae and brine shrimp, is one of the four most important bird flyways in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds come to feed on the brine shrimp and algae, resting for a while in the wetlands on their way to warmer climates.

The greatest concern with chemicals in the water is how they might indirectly affect birds and cause the lake to stink. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, or fertilizer, create an overabundance of algae and cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, in the water. When the algae die, it depletes the lake of oxygen necessary for other aquatic life. In fresh water, low oxygen levels can kill fish or the insects they feed on, Wurtsbaugh said, but the Great Salt Lake is too salty for fish.

High levels of cyanobacteria, however, can produce toxins that can affect humans and other animals, Wurtsbaugh said. In some cases, cattle, dogs and even humans have died after drinking water with cyanobacteria in it. This raises the question of safety for people to swim or recreate in Farmington Bay when there is cyanobacteria in the water. Wurtsbaugh added that the specific cyanobacteria in the Great Salt Lake hasn't yet been tested to see if it produces the toxins that affect humans.

Another concern with high algae content is whether it kills brine shrimp in the lake, which are important both as food for birds and for the brine shrimp industry. Dying algae can also cause excessive odors on the lake, Wurtsbaugh said.