Utah Lake Murky and misunderstood By Dan Potts
U
tah’s public has long considered Utah
the wind blows, the wave action stirs
Lake to be highly polluted. Once
up the very loose bottom, turning the
known as the largest natural lake west of
lake’s water muddy, thereby reinforcing
the Mississippi, it is surprising just how
the public’s common and long-held
unpolluted what later became a water
misconceptions about pollution.
storage reservoir really is.
Surprisingly, the health of Utah Lake’s
Extremely unique in the world, Utah Lake is 22 miles long by 15 miles wide, with an average depth of less than 10 feet. Because it is so shallow, every time
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waters and fish is counterintuitive to the public perception. Oh sure, there have been a few harmful algal blooms (HABs) in areas protected
