The recent Tribune article on Utah Lake makes it clear that we should stop listening to Lake Restoration Solutions’' unsubstantiated sales pitch: “Trust us, we know what we’re doing — we have the best experts”.
Adding storage in the dead zone has no impact whatsoever on reliable yield (although in the longer term it will provide useful sediment storage). On the other hand, reducing active storage by building islands undoubtedly will diminish reliable supply. Replacing the existing pumps so they can draw from a lower suction level will help — at a cost — but the elevation/yield curve becomes steeper as you go deeper, so if that deep storage is ever used the lake level will fall even faster, exposing more muddy shorelines – not what residents of high-end developments expect as a scenic view, or what is portrayed on the billboards.
And ideal habitat for phragmites and mosquitoes.
Worst of all, if this travesty is ever built it will be difficult and expensive to reverse. It’s time for the Utah Legislature to reconsider their enthusiasm for this questionable project, and focus on the progress being made in the ongoing efforts to restore the lake’s quality.
Richard Middleton, Salt Lake City
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