Home / Environment / Great Salt Lake Crisis: A New Film Warns
Great Salt Lake Crisis: A New Film Warns
23 Jan
Summary
- Great Salt Lake faces disappearance within years.
- Toxic dust from exposed lakebed threatens 2.8 million residents.
- Saving the lake requires massive water use overhaul.

The Sundance film festival's opening film, "The Lake," executive-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, highlights the imminent ecological crisis facing the Great Salt Lake. Directed by Abby Ellis, the documentary warns that the lake could vanish in a matter of years, potentially exposing 2.8 million residents to toxic dust laden with mercury and arsenic from the exposed lakebed. Scientists emphasize the urgent need for drastic action to curb water diversion, which has already led to a 73% loss of water and a 60% reduction in surface area since 1980.
The film draws parallels to catastrophic environmental collapses like California's Owens Lake and Iran's Lake Urmia. Experts advocate for a significant overhaul of Utah's water usage, particularly diverting water from agriculture. While the state government has committed philanthropic funds and set a 2034 target for healthier lake levels, the scale of the required changes remains immense, with scientists cautioning that slow progress amounts to losing the race against time.




