Opinion: The dust we breathe — Utah's urgent wake-up call from the Great Salt Lake

Yahoo

18-05-2025

Since 1987, there has been a steady decline in the Great Salt Lake's water elevation. 2022 reached its lowest annual lake elevation in recorded history, raising alarm throughout the Great Basin in Utah, from Brigham City, Farmington and Ogden to Orem, Provo and beyond.
In response, researchers, policymakers, businesses, faith groups, farmers, ranchers and nonprofits have stepped up to address a crisis that has already exposed roughly 1,110 square miles of lakebed. The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) collaborates with these stakeholders to confront the growing threat of hazardous dust storms that originate from the drying lakebed and worsen our already poor air quality. This is not a distant concern — these storms are already happening and are becoming more frequent.
Currently, Utah experiences a few dust storms per year. But as the lake continues to shrink, both the frequency and intensity of these storms will increase. The Salt Lake Valley's unique geography traps air pollution, meaning that harmful particles from dust storms can linger in our communities for days. These dust events are most common in spring and fall due to passing cold fronts, though summer thunderstorms can also trigger them. With rising temperatures and a changing climate, dust storm conditions will become even more prevalent, blowing toxic particles from the exposed lakebed directly into our homes and lungs.
The Great Salt Lake is a terminal lake, which means that all precipitation that falls as rain or snow within its watershed flows into the lake and remains there, with no natural outlet. This means that any pollution this water picks up along the way ends up in the lake.
We know from researchers that the lake sediment contains potentially harmful elements, including aluminum, antimony, arsenic, copper, uranium and vanadium. When airborne, these elements contribute to serious health risks. Exposure to polluted air can cause short and long-term health problems including coughing, shortness of breath and asthma. Chronic exposure to elements found in the lakebed can result in various health impacts, including lung and heart disease, stroke, and even cancer.
Utah already ranks among the worst states in the nation for air pollution. According to the American Lung Association's 2025 State of the Air report, Salt Lake City, Provo and Orem rank 25th out of 225 metro areas in the nation for worst short-term particle pollution, and 54th out of 208 for year-round particle pollution.
While Utah is making some efforts to increase water inflows to the lake, more must be done. Getting more water in the lake is critical to keeping dust on the playa and out of our atmosphere. At the same time, dust storms are already impacting our health and our lungs. State regulators and lawmakers must prioritize comprehensive dust monitoring and air quality alerts for communities around the lake. Though the Legislature has yet to fully fund this work, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and Division of Air Quality are committed to building a statewide dust monitoring network. This is essential to establishing a baseline dataset, tracking environmental changes, and protecting public health today and in the years to come.
Utah must ensure that all communities living near the Great Salt Lake are informed about the potential dangers of dust storms. Schools, daycares, elder care facilities, centers serving people with disabilities, and outdoor workers must have access to the resources needed to protect themselves.
A stronger, more coordinated response is essential, one in which communities receive clear guidance and support from the state and researchers to guard against the lake's worsening air pollution concerns. This support should include, at the bare minimum, funding air filtration systems in homes and businesses, providing face masks to block harmful particulate matter, improved access to medical care, and creating a reliable alert system to warn residents of incoming dust storms. These collective actions, from residents and decision makers alike, will help ensure Utah is ready to face a dusty future, at least until the lake is restored to healthy levels.
This work is difficult, long term, and there is no one solution. But Utahns are adaptable, extremely intelligent and creative. By practicing gratitude for our Great Salt Lake while taking action to increase water flows and dust monitoring, we can be cautiously optimistic for the future of the lake.