In regard to the current discussions about the future of Utah Lake, I would like to point out that it is hard to find a solution when you really don’t understand the problem. It seems to me that our state legislators were dazzled by the prospects of getting a solution to the lake’s pollution, all provided by a third party. In my opinion, they were so dazzled that they proceeded in passing legislation to approve a solution before they really understood the problem.
When the pioneers first came to Utah, Utah Lake was a beautiful jewel. The pioneers built dance halls on the shores, and from that vantage watched the sunsets on the clear blue water of Utah Lake. It was actually healthy to eat the clams and fish. Then the years went by, and the population grew, and at some point the good citizens decided that it was an acceptable idea to make Utah Lake part of their sewer system. Today, all the major cities of Utah County dump a huge nutrient load from their sewer systems into the lake.
I understand that the lake has more than one problem to solve, but when Utah Lake suffers a poisonous algae bloom that makes children ill and kills their pets, it isn’t because the lake is shallow. It has always been shallow. It isn’t because of global warming. The blooms began before global warming had much effect.
I hope the state legislators soon come to their senses and realize that dredging the lake and building homes in the middle of the lake will not “solve the real problem,” nor does it even “address the real problem.” No amount of dredging can make a lasting improvement on the quality of Utah Lake as long as hundreds of millions of gallons of sewer effluent flows into the lake. In fact, the multitude of homes that some propose to build in the middle of the lake will further contribute to the destruction of this beautiful natural wonder...unless they have no toilets.
My request to the people of Utah is the same as what I often asked my children: Clean your room. There is no free ride. No one is going to do it for you.
Joel Kester, Alpine
