Saige Miller

(Utah News Dispatch) Great Salt Lake will likely have a tough summer.

The saline lake relies on mountain snow melt to fill it with water, and this winter wasn’t as good as the past two seasons. Enough snow fell in 2023 and 2024 to lift the state out of drought, fill reservoirs to above capacity and boost the withering Great Salt Lake .

It’s a different story this year. As of May 1, the amount of runoff that made its way to the Great Salt Lake basin is 72% of normal, compared with 108% at this time in 2024. Jordan Clayton, the Utah Snow Survey Program supervisor, predicted the lake would reach 4,193.7 feet by the end of the runoff season in July.

“The lake is at 4,193.3 feet right now,” Clayton said. “We’re already, unfortunately, seeing the lake past its

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