Environment

Utah, USA - Great Salt Lake on Verge of Collapse

Utah's Great Salt Lake is on the verge of collapse, and could expose millions to arsenic laced dust. Scientists say excessive water use is to blame, with 74% of diverted lakewater being used for unsustainable agricultural practices.

Utah's Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, could be set to disappear within the next five years, exposing millions of people to the toxic dust trapped in the drying lake bed, according to scientists.

The lake has lost 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area since 1850 and is facing "unprecedented danger." Without emergency measures to add an additional 326 billion gallons (1,234 billion liters) of water to the lake per year, or enough water to fill nearly 500,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, it could pass the point of no return by the end of 2024.

Besides removing water needed for farms, houses, reservoirs and the extraction of critical minerals from brine, such as lithium and magnesium, the rapid drying of the lake would also pose severe hazards to both the environment and human health. The lake bed contains toxic dust mixed with dangerous metals such as antimony, copper, zirconium and arsenic that could be kicked up and carried by gusts of wind to damage crops; degrade soil; melt snow; and, if inhaled, increase the risks for illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, heart disease and cancer. Dust from the Great Salt Lake has already been recorded in southern Utah and Wyoming.