Can ‘Extreme’ 800-Mile Ocean Pump Save the Great Salt Lake?

Scientists have studied the possibility of filling the receding Great Salt Lake with water from the Pacific Ocean, through an 800-mile ocean pump—and the results do not look good.

The Great Salt Lake, in Utah, has seen a worrying decline in water levels in recent years. In November 2022, the lake reached its lowest level in recorded history at 4,188.2 feet, 17 feet below the level it should be.

The low water levels are concerning for a number of reasons. The Great Salt Lake is essential for the health of the surrounding environment. It’s an integral habitat for migratory birds, and due to its large size, it influences the surrounding climate and ecology. For this reason, scientists are searching for ways to save it.

Utah has seen years of severe drought, meaning the area is not seeing enough rainfall to replenish the lake quickly enough. One proposed way to save the lake is to install a pipeline from the Pacific Ocean. The cost of building the pipeline has previously been estimated at between $60 and $100 billion, according to a state official.

A new study, published in Environmental Research Communications, reported that “while the idea sounds extreme, so are the circumstances, some argue, and all options should be kept open.”

Drag slider

to compare photos

However, in the study, scientists discovered that this option comes with a myriad of difficult challenges.

“There are many potential challenges with bringing Pacific Ocean water to Great Salt Lake: right of way, construction, permitting, and salinity,” Robert B. Sowby, an assistant professor at Brigham Young University, and lead author of the study, told Newsweek. “We analyzed energy use and emissions in particular during the operational phase. No one has looked at that yet. Even in a best-case scenario, it’s enormous.”

First, there would be the amount of electricity required. The researchers found that pumping this water into the lake requires 400 megawatts of electricity—this is the equivalent of 11 percent of Utah’s annual electricity demand, the study reported. And this would cost over $300 million a year.

Researchers also estimated that this electricity would emit around 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. They were also concerned that this could even triple, considering the surrounding terrain, and any required treatment to the pipeline.

“Long term, we must match our demand for water to the available supply. Up until now it’s been the other way around: Our thirst has been bigger than our glass. I believe we have the means here at home, within the watershed, to solve the problem,” Sowby said. “But it will require that we change our whole perspective on water resources planning.”

Although the project would not be impossible, the study reported there would be “serious challenges” in the pipeline’s completion.

“Our estimate may help select—or eliminate—alternatives for Great Salt Lake. Any alternative selected for further consideration would require a feasibility study with more detail,” the study reported.

Utah, and the rest of the Southwest, has seen severe drought conditions in recent years. The Great Salt Lake gets its water from run off from the Uinta Mountains and the Wasatch mountain range.

This means that a lack of precipitation can severely hinder the lake’s water supply.

This past year has been better than others, however. The Southwest saw a huge amount of rainfall last winter, which meant a record amount of snowpack accumulation in the region’s mountains.

However experts fear the effects of this winter will only be short term. It remains to be seen how the Great Salt Lake fares if the region experiences extremely dry weather in coming years.