Utah state government officials have pushed the Great Salt Lake to the brink of an ecological collapse by decades of allowing upstream water to be diverted away from the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River and primarily to farmers growing alfalfa, hay and other crops, says a new lawsuit filed Wednesday by a coalition of environmental groups.
The lake first hit a record low in the summer of 2021, fuelling renewed attention from Utah's Republican-led Legislature. But lawmakers' actions have not been enough to assuage the concerns of a coalition that includes Earthjustice, the Utah Rivers Council and Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, among others.
