Restoring flows to the Weber, Jordan and Bear Rivers is crucial for reducing the likelihood of catastrophic human health and ecological impacts from a dried Great Salt Lake (GSL). Increasingly exposed GSL lakebed dust, laden with heavy metals, may increase rates of cancer and respiratory diseases among the 2.7 million residents of the Wasatch Front. Agriculture accounts for 63-75% of consumptive water use in the watersheds that feed into this terminal lake. Converting water intensive crop land could reduce water consumption while generating clean energy. We seek to understand what collaborative governance efforts growers in these watersheds would support. Further, what role do they see for themselves in processes for co-developing water conservation policies? Answering these questions could assist communities adapting to drought conditions in the west. In Utah, it will inform policy to address the urgent crisis of a drying GSL while evaluating growers’ attitudes towards alternative land uses.
- Stacia Ryder - Principal Investigator
- Bryn Watkins - Graduate Student Researcher