Doctors plead with Utah lawmakers to save the Great Salt Lake

Details: Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, one of the plaintiffs suing the state for allegedly failing to get more water into the shrinking lake, coordinated the letter.

What they're saying: "This decline threatens the health of over 2 million people who live immediately downwind of the lake," the letter reads. "As the lake recedes, dust storms originating from the exposed lakebed are ultimately inhaled by Utahns throughout the Wasatch Front."

• Of note: Spokespeople for the state Senate and House did not respond to Axios' request for comment.

Threat level: Breathing in harmful lakebed dust could result in various health consequences, including an increased risk of stroke, medical professionals said in the letter.

Between the lines: The letter was delivered one week before the 45-day legislative session, where state lawmakers are expected to debate water-saving measures and funding to protect the lake.

• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's 2024-25 budget proposal calls for nearly $28 million to preserve the Great Salt Lake.

Context: The Great Salt Lake, the largest saline lake in the Western Hemisphere, is on track to collapse within the next decade unless there's a significant increase in water flow, researchers wrote in a grim report released last year.

• While last year's abundance of snow provided much-needed relief to Utah's drought conditions, the current snowpack has not reached levels expected for January.
• Nearly one-third of the state is under "abnormally dry" to "moderate drought" conditions, per the U.S. Drought Monitor.

This article originates from the Great Salt Lake Collaboration, a solutions journalism initiative designed to inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake.