Shortly after pioneers from the east landed in the Great Salt Lake Valley, surveys began to be taken of the Great Salt Lake, which inhabits a large portion of Davis County. The U.S. Geological Survey has data on the level of the lake dating back to 1850 and put in perspective, it may help to see where the lake has been, where it has come from, and where it may go without intervention. 

In those early readings, taken at the Saltair Boat Harbor, the Great Salt Lake hovered around 4,200 feet. The graph tracking the lake levels looks more or less like an unhealthy cardiogram: peaks, and valleys, but, as more and more people settled permanently in the valley, the levels of the lake began to steadily decline. 

In 1905, for example, the lake hit its first all-time low of 4,195 feet. This depressing record wouldn’t be surpassed until 1963, when the lake almost reached a low of 4,191 feet. Surprisingly, the highest the lake has ever been has happened within the lifetimes of many still living on the Wasatch Front: 1986.

Many still recall the floods of 1983, but, it wasn’t for more years that the Great Salt Lake would have seen its highest level in recorded history: over 4,210 feet. Of course, at that point, lake levels were dangerous in a different way than today. The data shows that the flooded lake caused over $200 million in damages to roadways, homes and businesses, but today, in 2024, the lake is a far cry from those issues. 

The lowest point, the very lowest the lake has ever been since records began to be kept almost 200 years ago, happened not last century, nor the one before. It didn’t even happen in the last decade, but two short years ago. In 2022, the lake fell to a dismal and dangerous 4,188 feet. While the recent healthy water years have done much to help, bringing the lake back to 4,195 feet, there’s still a long way to go.

After all, the current lake level, the highest it has been since 2014, is still the low of 1905. Much has been said in the Davis Journal, and elsewhere about how important the lake is to the local ecology, the local economy, and more, and although action has been taken, more needs to be taken immediately if the lake is to bounce back entirely.