Morgan says…
“Utah’s legendary ‘Greatest Snow on Earth’ wouldn’t exist without Great Salt Lake. The lake is crucial in fueling the state’s snowpack, creating the deep, fluffy powder that defines its world-class ski industry. But as Great Salt Lake shrinks, this delicate cycle is unraveling–impacting everything from snowfall levels to the broader ecosystem. The consequences of a diminished lake stretch far beyond its shoreline, reaching all the way to the mountain peaks. ** (** The Future of Utah’s Snow Depends on Great Salt Lake by Morgan Cardon | Feb 26, 2025. https://growtheflowutah.org/2025/02/26/the-future-of-utahs-snow-depends-on-great-salt-lake/)
Morgan is correct, but…. The consequences of a diminished lake reach to all the 158 named rivers originating in the Colorado mountains. They all have a diminished flow.
“Great Salt Lake’s cycle begins kilometers away over the Pacific, where storm clouds form and move east. As they pass over the Sierra Nevadas, the warm and humid air butts up against the mountain range and an upward ascension causes the air to rapidly cool—water then condensing and falling from the sky as rain. Not all of it falls, however, and the nearly depleted clouds continue on towards Utah’s Wasatch range.**
Rain Shadow Effect
There is some truth in this paragraph. The weather phenomenon described is named the ‘Rain Shadow Effect’. The warm moist and humid air butts against the mountain range and the upward ascension causes the air to cool rapidly. Cold air holds less water than warm air, so the air releases the moisture as rain on the Pacific side of the mountain, leaving the Great Basin without its share of the moisture.
The Great Basin does gain some moisture from the Pacific, but historically the Great Basin has received more moisture from the south, blowing in from the south near Death Valley and circulating within the Great Basin; moving around and toward Utah’s Wasatch range.
Great Salt Lake is a Snow Generator.
“Great Salt Lake, a 1,600 square mile body of water that’s too salty to freeze, recharges the storms with moisture—and these refreshed storms head right towards Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Deer Valley, and Park City: Utah’s premier ski resorts and home to the “Greatest Snow on Earth.” The reason our snow is oh-so-good is because Great Salt Lake has just the perfect touch of water to add to those storms that come rolling by. The quality of our snow is directly affected by the lake: not too heavy, not too wet, but a perfect balance.
Snow Completes the Cycle.
“In spring, the snow will melt and make its way into aquifers. These groundwater stores hold the once lake-water for a time before it runs down in mountain streams and joins rivers heading back to Great Salt Lake, where it will wait to evaporate and come down as snow once more.**
We can all agree that conservation of this resource is valuable, but today’s woes are more the result of a broken water cycle, one bigger than that described by the author.
Pacific Ocean > Wasatch Range Watercycle.
The hydrologic cycle described by the author is: 1. Pacific moisture blown into the Serria Nevada mountains. 2. What little moisture which evades the Rain Shadow Effect is blown into the Wasatch range. 3. Snow melt returns water into the Great Salt Lake. 4. Evaporation from the Great Salt Lake blows into the Wasatch range.
Bay of California > Colorado Mountains Watercycle.
The hydrologic cycle which is not acknowledged is: 1. Evaporation from Gulf of California. 2. Evaporation from Colorado River Delta. 3. Evaporation from Laguna Salada, Baja, MX. 4. Evaporation from the Salton Sea. 5. Evaporation blows north into the Great Basin. 6. Moisture circulates within the Great Basin. 7. Moisture lands in the Gret Salt Lake. 8. Evaporation from the Great Salt Lame deposits snow in the Wasatch and Colorado mountains. 9. Snow melt feeds 158 named rivers originating in the Colorado mountains. 10. The flow of the Colorado River feeds the Colorado River Delta.
Diminishing Results.
This hydrologic cycle has been diminishing since 1936. Beginning in 1936 the Colorado River Delta has been starved of water. All the Colorado River freshwater is being drained out of the river before it can enter the delta. On its face this sounds like a good thing. We have saved the freshwater for human use. Once the freshwater reaches the ocean it is useless for most human use without desalination. But there is an unintended consequence.
Before 1936 the Colorado River Delta was a 3,000 square mile verdant moist wetland pumping huge amounts of moisture into the air. Being starved of river water since 1940, the unintended consequence is local-climate-change. The delta is now a 3,000 square mile brown dry desert. It no longer adds moisture into the air. Worse yet it has erected a hot air barrier preventing moisture from blowing north. This temperature inversion inhibits both the moisture which used to feed the hydrologic cycle and reduces the moisture pumped north during the North American Monsoon. The result of this local-climate-change is the mega-drought. Left unchecked will lead to the aridification of the SW-USA.
Local-Climate-Change.
Yes, the Colorado River Delta has changed from a living wetland to a dead desert. This brings changes which wreak havoc on the local climate, which then spread to adjacent local climates. In July-2021, the United Nations Environment Programme published the Foresight Brief #FB025: Working with plants, soils and water to cool the climate and rehydrate Earth’s landscapes.* In FB025 it explains how these changes affect any local climate. According to the data within the report, the local ambient temperature today is 36°F (20°C) hotter than it was in 1936.† This temperature has a devastating effect on the Bay of California > Colorado mountains water cycle, and on the North American Monsoon; both deliver less water north into the SW-USA..
(*https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359452372_Working_with_plants_soils_and_water_to_cool_the_climate_and_rehydrate_Earth’s_landscapes)
(† https://climate-rescue.org/2025/01/24/plants-soils-and-water-cool-the-climate/)
Let’s fix the problem.
There are two ways to fix the problem.
1. Stop taking freshwater out of the watershed.
I do not think humans will stop taking water out of the Colorado River watershed because approximately 40-million people rely on that freshwater for life and livelihood. I think they would complain. To replace this freshwater from alternative sources is massively expensive. Still, let us come to a compromise. We can conserve and conscientiously reduce what is taken. We must not drain the river completely dry. We must not extract more from aquifers than they can naturally replenish in a year. We must allow some Colorado River water to flow into its delta.
2. Repair the water cycle.
We need to repair the hydrologic cycle. This sounds like a big task; nearly impossible. Well, if man can break it, he should be able to fix it. Yes, humans can fix it, and there is a viable option which can be implemented, installed, and operated by the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation. Our best option is to replicate the lost water cycle by moving oceanwater into the Great Basin. The cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining this project is considerable, but it can be collected from a water-use-fee imposed on those who broke the water cycle, the users of Colorado River water, as they continue to move water out of the watershed.
Bureau of Reclamation
Because this operation spans multiple US states, it must be coordinated by the US government. Fortunately, the Bureau of Reclamation exists, and this type of project is fully within its mission: “The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public” (https://www.usbr.gov/main/about/mission.html).
How to replicate the hydrologic cycle.
1. Colorado River Delta > Laguna Salada.
The plan begins with an agreement with Mexico to dredge the Coyote Canal and connect it to the Gulf or California, allowing ocean water to gravity flow into Laguna Salada. The Coyote Canal was installed as a connector between the Colorado River and Laguna Salada. Selecting a new serpentine track for the Coyote Canal, moisture can reach more parts of the desert delta on its way to Laguna Salada, thus providing hydration to more land, and more opportunity to infuse the atmosphere with moisture. Refilling Laguna Salada will provide an atmosphere moisture generator for the water cycle. Laguna Salada is a shallow, warm body of saltwater, with a large surface area, situated in a dry air environment, in virtual wind tunnel of air blowing atmosphere moisture northward.
2. Laguna Salada > Salton Sea.
The Coyote Canal can be extended to the Salton Sea. This will be a new 60-mile-long metered-flow canal which must pass through a 150-foot hill. By extending the Coyote Canal past Laguna Salada and into the Salton Sea, it can be refilled to its 1950s surface level. This inflow of oceanwater will immediately lower the salinity of the Salton Sea. Increasing the surface level of the Salton Sea will improve its moisture input into the water cycle. The Salton Sea is a shallow, warm body of saltwater, situated in a dry air environment, with the larger surface area making more moisture available to the hydrologic cycle flowing northward.
3. Salton Sea > Great Basin.
The surface level of the Salton Sea can be increased and maintained at its 1950s level by the metered flow of the extended Coyote Canal and the pumped outflow into the great Basin. Over time, the salinity and agricultural pollution of the Salton Sea will be reduced by the flowthrough of water into the Great Basin. This will return the Salton Sea into a habitable place for fish, birds, and people.
4. Great Basin > Great Salt Lake.
The Salton Sea water pumped into the Great Basin will reside in a currently dry depression, where natural processes will take over. Once the water is placed within the Great Basin, evaporation will infuse freshwater into the atmosphere and leave behind the salt and pollutants. The natural processes of the water cycle within the Great Basin will move freshwater around and deposit it into the Great Salt Lake. The surface level of the Great Salt Lake is the gauge which will determine the amount of water imported into the Great Basin.
5. Great Salt Lake > Colorado Mountains.
No human hands are needed for this part. By returning the moisture into the Great Basin and the Great Salt Lake, the original hydrologic cycle will be restored. The Colorado Mountains will be receiving enough moisture to return full flow to all 158 named rivers originating in those mountains.
Conclusion.
We cannot rob Mother Nature without receiving a punishment. This broken water cycle is our penalty for years of robbing Mother Nature. Let’s not accept the new normal. Let’s gain moisture for the Great Salt Lake and resist the aridification of the SW-USA. Let’s put the US Bureau of Reclamation to work within their assigned mission. Replacing the hydrologic cycle will return a full snowpack to the Wasatch and Colorado Mountains. One last thing, once the river is returned to full flow, let’s give Mother Nature her share by allowing a constant flow into the Colorado River Delta.
Proponent.
Move the Water! is the proposed initiative of Active Climate Rescue Initiative. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is founded to actively rescue our climate by encouraging positive climate change through water relocation into earth’s water deficit areas. Anyplace in the world where there is a dry depression is a place where there is a moisture deficit. These places are the key to reversing climate change. By infusing these places with water from an open flow inlet, moisture can be reintroduced into the local environment through hydrologic processes. Active Climate Rescue Initiative is a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation approved by the USA IRS as a 501.c.3 Public Charity.
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