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Preliminary Assessment of Permanent/Temporary Impoundment of Farmington Bay to Address GSL Dust Hotspots
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| Type: | Resource | |
| Storage: | The size of this resource is 1.5 MB | |
| Created: | Jan 24, 2026 at 3:06 a.m. (UTC) | |
| Last updated: | Jan 24, 2026 at 3:45 a.m. (UTC) | |
| Citation: | See how to cite this resource |
| Sharing Status: | Public |
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Abstract
As the Great Salt Lake (GSL) has receded, much of Farmington Bay (FB) has dried, exposing more than 120 square miles of lakebed (playa), a source of windblown dust which may affect nearby communities and pose health risks. This study explored whether impounding water at the Antelope Island Causeway, either temporarily or permanently, is viable from a hydrologic and dust mitigation perspective for limiting dust generated from exposed lakebed areas. Using elevation-area-volume information from a topobathymetric elevation model, the volume of water required to raise FB to target elevations, ranging from 4195–4199 ft, was calculated. These volumes were compared against 21 years of Jordan River annual inflow volumes to assess feasibility. A water balance model was developed to simulate FB water levels under various impoundment scenarios, incorporating inflows, precipitation, evaporation, and outflows to the south arm of the GSL. Results indicate that permanent impoundment could reduce dust emissions by continuously submerging up to 58% of identified hotspots, but would also increase evaporation losses and reduce inflows to GSL by about 200 kaf/year. Temporary annual impoundment offers partial dust suppression with significantly lower evaporative impact, though it would require a larger investment in an engineered structure for seasonal water level management. Overall, the analysis suggests that impoundment is hydrologically feasible for dust mitigation, but further evaluation is needed to address ecological, environmental, economic, and engineering considerations, as well as trade-offs associated with the impact of reduced inflows to GSL levels and salinity.
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Funding Agencies
This resource was created using funding from the following sources:
| Agency Name | Award Title | Award Number |
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| Utah Division of Forest Fire and State Lands | None | None |
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This resource is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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