Lake not so 'Great'

With Utah in its sixth year of drought, the incredibly shrinking Great Salt Lake doesn't appear so "great" anymore.

Fremont and Gunnison are the only two true islands left in the lake, noted Wallace Gwynn, a geologist with the Utah Geological Survey. The lake's other "islands" are now all hooked to the mainland.

The lake surface's current elevation of 4,196.3 feet above sea level is about a foot lower than last year at this time and the lowest it's been since 1970.

And Gwynn predicts the Great Salt Lake's water level is likely to also be about a foot lower this fall than it was in the autumn of 2003. The lake is usually lowest each calendar year in the early fall.

If the lake does drop as anticipated to 4,194 feet this fall, that will be its lowest level since 1967. The lake's lowest-ever level was recorded in 1963 — 4,191.3 feet above sea level.

At its historic peak of 4,211.6 feet in 1987, the lake's waters covered 3,300 square miles. Today it only encompasses some 1,200 square miles and in 1963, it covered only 950 square miles.

On the positive side, less lake can equal reduced erosion along the 7.5-mile causeway to Antelope Island and also means less upkeep for I-80 toward Wendover. It also means the Great Salt Lake pumps on the west shores remain idle and no one gets flooded.

On the negative side, it could make it more difficult to control mosquitoes.

Gary Hatch of the Davis Mosquito Abatement District said a shrinking Great Salt Lake ultimately means more areas around the lake that make ideal hatching sites that will need to be sprayed to control mosquitoes.

"It makes our job a little more interesting," he said. "It exposes more marsh."

Ron Taylor, Antelope Island State Park manager, said shallow lake water is affecting the park's marina the most. Large boats won't be able to use the marina this year. The marina currently has less than 4 feet of water, essentially closing it to everything except small power boats, kayaks, canoes and small sailboats, he said.

Swimmers and waders will have to walk a little farther to reach the water at Antelope's beaches again this year. But Taylor said the wildlife and vegetation look in good shape. Some 270,000 people visited the island last year.

Bird sanctuaries, such as Egg Island, are now easily accessible by wading, but Taylor said the park strives to educate visitors to stay away from these sensitive locations.

"It wasn't a problem last year," he said.

Christopher Quick, park manager for the Great Salt Lake State Marina on the south shore, said he's only had to eliminate the largest of boats so far.

"We have 6 to 6 1/2 feet of water in the marina now," he said.