Donation of enough water to fill a small reservoir now headed to the Great Salt Lake

The start of the Jordan River along the north shore of Utah Lake is pictured on Sept. 16, 2024. The Utah Division of Natural Resources recently announced a 10,000 acre-foot donation of water to the Great Salt Lake, conveyed by the Jordan River. (Kyle Dunphey/Utah News Dispatch.)

Enough water to fill a small reservoir is now headed north through the Jordan River, the latest effort from the state and its partners to help the ailing Great Salt Lake.

On Monday, water managers and state officials announced a 10,000 acre-foot donation of water, stemming from Utah Lake, that will be conveyed through the Jordan River into the south arm of the Great Salt Lake.

That’s enough water to fill some of northern Utah’s smaller reservoirs, including the 7,100 acre-feet Porcupine Reservoir in Cache County, or the 5,100 acre-foot Smith and Morehouse Reservoir in the Uinta Mountains. An acre-foot is the amount of water required to submerge an acre of land by one foot, or almost 326,000 gallons.

The delivery is the result of a three-part donation, with about 5,300 acre-feet coming from the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, 1,700 acre-feet from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and an additional 3,000 acre-feet leased by the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust.

According to the Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan released earlier this year, the lake needs between 471,000 and 1,055,000 acre-feet of additional water delivered each year for it to reach 4,198 feet in elevation, which is considered the “low end” of the healthy range. Currently the south arm of the lake sits at about 4,192.6 feet, with the north arm, separated by a railroad causeway, about a foot lower.

The release announced Monday is just one time, according to the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust. It pales in comparison to a recent agreement between the state and Compass Minerals, which operates on the Great Salt Lake, that would keep about 200,000 acre-feet in the lake.

But Joel Ferry, the executive director of the Utah Division of Natural Resources, remained optimistic Monday, calling it a “huge step” in the Great Salt Lake’s recovery.

“Even a short-term win is a win. Even if it’s one or two years, we can get some of this water down to the Great Salt Lake, it’s a win,” Ferry said.

More water in Jordan River means healthier wildlife habitat

The donation also comes at a critical time for the Jordan River, which typically experiences lower flows this time of year. The river is getting a boost after the Utah Division of Water Quality received a nearly $5 million federal grant to help restore its wetlands and riparian zones.

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That, coupled with an additional 10,000 acre-feet flowing through it, will make a noticeable difference in the river’s levels this fall, said Soren Simonsen, executive director of the Jordan River Commission.

“More water in the river means a healthier riparian habitat for a lot of wildlife that are migrating through here right now on their way back to Central and South America,” he said. “We know that more water in the river also improves water quality.”

Alan Packard, the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District’s general manager, said several key factors made the donation possible. For starters, two years of above-average snow in northern Utah put more water in the state’s rivers and lakes — Utah Lake, which feeds the Jordan River, has been full for most of the summer and as of Monday, was at about 86% capacity.

Homeowners and businesses in the district’s service area were also able to conserve about 5,300 acre-feet of water, which is roughly how much the district is donating, Packard said.

And, the Utah Legislature in 2022 passed House Bill 410 , which allocated about $40 million to set up the Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust, tasked with getting more water to the lake.

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