The Great Salt Lake appears to have started its annual winter gains early after a rainy October, but the leader of the state agency tasked with its recovery says the lake is still much lower than it should be after another rough summer.

Its southern arm is currently at 4,191.3 feet elevation — a few inches above the lowest point recorded this year — while its northern arm remains at 4,190.8 feet elevation, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That puts both arms approximately 1 foot below where they were this time last year, and among some of their lowest levels at the end of an irrigation season on record.

“That’s obviously lower than we’d like to see it, and that’s something that gives us all pause — and something that gives us motivation to work even harder to get things running o

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