Biden-Harris Administration announces $50 million for drought mitigation in the Great Salt Lake Basin

WASHINGTON - Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton was at the Great Salt Lake to announce an investment of $50 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for a water delivery program aimed at helping to ensure an ongoing, resilient water supply in the Basin. The state of Utah is leveraging over $50 million to complement Reclamation's investment, making this a $100 million investment in the Great Salt Lake.

The Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner and Utah Department of Natural Resources plan to utilize this investment to enhance and expand their ongoing agricultural optimization efforts. This funding also allows the state to implement the program to lease water and then deliver conserved water to the Great Salt Lake reducing water losses throughout the basin.

"We recognize the local commitment to conservation of the Great Salt Lake and make this investment in an effort to slow the long-term decline of the water level," Touton said. "The impacts of drought to the area are evident and we must work with the state and local community to conserve this important water body to stop negative impacts to the local environment and wildlife habitat, the agriculture ecosystem services, recreation, and industry."

The Great Salt Lake is currently roughly one-third of its normal size. The Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner adopted a strategic plan to address this issue that includes both short-term and long-term actions. One of the key objectives of the plan is to secure additional water, which will occur with this funding. This funding will also assist in the development of water-saving infrastructure.

The Biden-Harris administration has led all-of-government effort to make Western communities more resilient to climate change and address the ongoing megadrought across the region by harnessing the full resources of President Biden's historic Investing in America agenda. The Inflation Reduction Act includes an overall $550 million for the Bureau of Reclamation to implement domestic water supply projects and $4 billion for water conservation and ecosystem projects in the Colorado River Basin and other basins, like Great Salt Lake, experiencing similar levels of long-term drought. With today's announcement, Reclamation has announced more than $3.2 billion from Inflation Reduction Act for 222 drought mitigation projects, 39 domestic water supply projects, 7 emergency relief projects for Tribal communities and 4 canal improvement projects.