Will This Lake Disappear in a Few Years? People Out West Think So

And the consequences for the ecosystem surrounding the lake, including the human ecosystem, could be dire.

Transcript

00:00This is the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

00:07Scientists say that as climate change continues, it could all dry up.

00:10But not in 50 or 100 years or sometime in the distant future.

00:14A new report indicates if something isn't done immediately, right now, pronto,

00:18the lake for which the state's biggest city gets its name, could disappear in five years.

00:23Over the last couple of years, the massive Salt Lake has lost a million acre feet of water every year.

00:28An acre foot being an acre of land covered by one foot of water.

00:31The Great Salt Lake isn't just water, though.

00:33It's a massive ecosystem of fish, birds, and other wildlife around the lake that rely on it.

00:38Meaning as the lake dries up, experts say many will be added to the endangered species list.

00:42But there's another danger of drying lake beds.

00:44At the bottom of the lake lies embedded arsenic, mercury, lead, and cyanotoxins.

00:49And when the lake dries, winds can pick up and aerosolize those contaminants,

00:53leading to health issues for anyone nearby.

00:55So how do we save this integral source of water for the region?

00:58Well, experts say the region needs to use it less.

01:00Water consumption needs to be cut by up to half.

01:02And humans need to come up with a way to bring at least 2.5 million acre feet of water back

01:07to the once great Salt Lake.

01:09levees and rock that same water.

01:10Get to drink, but I know a corner.

01:11But we can also see all the next ones.