HELP SAVE OUR LAKE
The Great Salt Lake fuels our weather, our wildlife, and our way of life. But it’s disappearing — fast.
WHY DOES THE LAKE MATTER?
Great Salt Lake shapes a powerful microclimate along the Wasatch Front, cooling summers, moderating winters, and producing lake-effect precipitation that sustains the region. A shrinking lake threatens to break this cycle.
OUR ECONOMY
A declining Great Salt Lake is an economic issue, not just an environmental one. Worsening snowpack and rising dust increase health costs, reduce productivity, and make it harder to attract and retain people and businesses.
LET IT SNOW
The Great Salt Lake drives lake-effect snow that supplies half of the precipitation in our valleys and much of the snow in our mountains. This snowpack is critical to our water supply, agriculture, recreation, and year-round economy.
TOXIC DUST
As water levels drop, the exposed lakebed releases dust containing long-accumulated toxic metals that can stay airborne for weeks after storm events.
10M BIRDS
As water levels drop, critical wetlands disappear—threatening millions of migratory birds that rely on the Great Salt Lake for food, nesting, and survival.
HOW DO WE SAVE OUR LAKE?
There is no single solution to saving the lake. Protecting it will require action from individuals, communities, businesses, and leaders alike.
WHAT CAN I DO NOW?
The single most important action you can take right now is to reduce outdoor water use.
- Nearly all water used indoors eventually returns to the lake
- Almost all water used outdoors does not
- On average, Utahns water their lawns far more than needed
Simply watering only what your lawn actually needs would have a major impact.
Additional ways to help:
- Remove or reduce turf in park strips
- Replace water-intensive plants with water-wise alternatives
- Fix broken or inefficient sprinklers
- Avoid watering driveways, sidewalks, and streets
- Talk with neighbors and help normalize smarter water use
Small changes, multiplied across millions of people, can restore the lake.
WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO HAPPEN?
GSL RISING is working with business, state, nonprofit, and federal leaders to advance the actions needed to restore the Great Salt Lake:
- Remove invasive species like phragmites that consume water, degrade wetlands, and accelerate lakebed exposure
- Restore and protect wetlands that filter pollutants, support wildlife, and reduce toxic dust
- Expand metering of secondary water systems to improve accountability, data accuracy, and conservation outcomes
- Modernize water-rights programs to better align usage with long-term lake sustainability and real hydrologic conditions
- Incentivize agricultural efficiency so farms can reduce water use while remaining productive and economically viable
- Support voluntary water-sharing and leasing programs that keep water flowing to the lake during critical periods
- Reduce industrial and mineral waste that harms water quality, air quality, and ecosystem health
- Improve coordination across agencies and jurisdictions to ensure efforts are aligned, measurable, and effective
- Advance science, monitoring, and transparency so decisions are guided by data and progress can be tracked over time
WE HAVE TO ACT NOW. WE NEED ABOUT ONE MILLION ADDITIONAL ACRE-FEET OF WATER FLOWING INTO THE GREAT SALT LAKE EVERY YEAR.
STATE LEADERS HAVE SET A GOAL TO RESTORE THE LAKE BY THE OLYMPICS
PARTNERS PROTECTING OUR LAKE'S FUTURE
Envision Utah
Friends of Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake Advisory Council
Great Salt Lake Brine Shrimp Cooperative
Great Salt Lake Strike Team
Great Salt Lake Alliance
Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust
Grow The Flow
National Audubon Society
Rural Water Association
WE'RE UNITING UTAH TO SAVE ITS LAKE
JOIN THE RISING
All of our overhead and operational expenses are covered by the generosity of local businesses. As a result, every dollar you contribute is used for lake restoration efforts.
