WES Seminar 2024: October 23
David Tarboton

Abstract

How much water will it take to restore the Great Salt Lake and how to achieve it?

The terminal Great Salt Lake has shrunk to record low levels in recent years due to changes in climate and river inflows impacted by water use. This is critical because the lake is an important economic and ecological resource and the exposed lake bed a source of harmful dust impacting air quality. This seminar will describe work as part of the Great Salt Lake Strike team formed to serve Utah policy makers addressing the challenges of low lake levels. The lake is shallow and its size adjusts to balance, on average, precipitation and streamflow inflows by evaporation. Water in the Great Salt Lake basin is highly managed with diversions going to irrigated agriculture and municipal uses. The presentation will describe the sensitivity of the lake to reductions and variability of inflows, and calculations of the inflows required to achieve target lake levels. It will examine estimates of water use and how water use within the Great Salt Lake basin has impacted lake level. This information is being used by the Strike Team in the evaluation of management and policy options being considered for the Great Salt Lake. 

Portrait of David Tarboton.

Biography

David Tarboton, Director, Utah Water Research Laboratory
Utah State University

David Tarboton is the director of the Utah Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University. The Utah Water Research Laboratory conducts research to generate knowledge needed to solve water problems in Utah, the country and around the world. Dr. Tarboton’s research is in the area of surface water hydrology, water resources, hydrologic modeling, hydrologic information systems, digital elevation model terrain analysis and snow. He led the development of HydroShare, a hydrologic information system for sharing hydrologic data and models operated by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. His work includes modeling of the Great Salt Lake. He graduated from MIT in 1989, and has been on the faculty at Utah State University from 1990 to present.