From Deseret News archives:
Lake's not so great
Mud plain is growing as water level recedes
Maybe those mothballed Great Salt Lake pumps should be retired to a museum. They likely won't be needed for many years. After two decades of being highly visible from along I-15 in Centerville, the lake has now receded sharply and is at its lowest level — 4,198 feet above sea level — since 1980.
Contrast that with as recently as 15 years ago when the massive pumps were used to try to preserve I-80 and reclaim the Antelope Island causeway and other land from record-high water levels that caused some $250 million in damages.
More heat and less precipitation are what's lowering the lake. "It's been real hot and dry," Wallace Gwynn, a geologist with the Utah Geological Survey, said.
"I took eight years of downtrends and averages," Gwynn said, as the basis of his prediction.
He said if the drought continues, the level may go as low as 4,196 feet next year, the lowest elevation since about 1970.
Dale R. Hawkins of Kaysville, professor emeritus at Weber State University's School of Business, has his own unorthodox system for predicting the level of the lake. He uses the principles of business charts.
He believes the lake will likely remain in a downward trend until 2005, based on his chart interpretations, and that means three more years of drought. He's predicting a low lake level of 4,197.5 feet by Sept. 15 — the end of the water season — this year.
|
Deseret News graphic
Elevation of the Great Salt Lake
Comments
Jeremy Harmon, Deseret News
Antelope Island appears to rise out of a desert as the water level in the Great Salt Lake shrinks to 4,198 feet above sea level, its lowest mark since 1980.
I wanted to tell them not to go. I dropped subtle hints. "My money is on... 
When I was a kid, I worshipped my grandpa. He was undoubtedly my hero....   Latest comments None of these teams is going to be easy. They all have fine football... Max, no apology was necessary, but the apology was polically correct. If... Very good piece of writing, Amy. You summarized what many of us have been... How is a top 25 finish make Utah a top twenty team? I think what the poster... 90% of the BYU & Utah fans have class, and Hall knows it. If you don't... This might be my favorite article I've ever read from the Deseret News. Kudos. Thank you for not giving up and don't give up now brother and sister... Dr. Lois Lee's work with children who are victims of child sexual... Look at the preview for Pixar's "Up". The whole move is summarized in... I totally agree with you. I have always spoken to the Cougar fans that sit... Advertisements
Advertisement
|
You can be the first to comment on this story.