Utah Professor Outlines Costly Options to Curb Great Salt Lake Dust

Researcher lays out solutions and price tags to mitigate dust from exposed lakebed containing heavy metals.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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A University of Utah professor has analyzed various options and their costs to keep dust from the exposed bed of the shrinking Great Salt Lake at bay. Dr. Kevin Perry found that none of the potential solutions, ranging from watering the lakebed to seeding it with tall grass, are cheap, with each costing billions of dollars over 50 years. Perry concluded that restoring the lake to good health is the most sustainable and cost-effective long-term strategy to reduce the need for ongoing and expensive dust mitigation measures.

Why it matters

The dry lakebed contains arsenic and other heavy metals that can lead to serious health issues like heart disease and asthma for the 2.5 million people living along the Wasatch Front. Containing this dust is a major priority for state leaders, but the high costs of potential mitigation efforts highlight the challenges Utah faces in addressing this growing environmental threat.

The details

Dr. Kevin Perry analyzed options like watering the lakebed, creating a solar panel field, tilling the soil, seeding with tall grass, and flooding or covering the exposed areas. He found that each approach would cost billions over 50 years, with the cheapest being "artificial roughness" like brush piles at $3.2 billion, and the most expensive being "precision surface wetting" at $31 billion for the current 70 square mile dust "hot spots". Perry noted the costs would continue to rise as the lake dries up further.

  • The Great Salt Lake reached a record low in 2022, made some recovery, then dropped back down to end last year at its third-lowest level since 1903.
  • A network of dust monitors is being installed this winter to help determine where mitigation is most needed.

The players

Dr. Kevin Perry

A professor at the University of Utah's Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy who analyzed options and costs for mitigating dust from the Great Salt Lake's exposed lakebed.

Sen. Scott Sandall

A Utah state senator and primary sponsor of water legislation who says keeping heavy metals in the lake rather than the air is the "No. 1 concern".

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What they’re saying

“It should be a wake-up call on how expensive this can actually be.”

— Dr. Kevin Perry (utahnewsdispatch.com)

“I'm not going to negate the idea that we do have dust that's coming off the lake. That's evident.”

— Sen. Scott Sandall (utahnewsdispatch.com)

What’s next

A network of dust monitors being installed this winter will help determine where mitigation efforts are most needed.

The takeaway

Restoring the Great Salt Lake to good health appears to be the most sustainable and cost-effective long-term strategy to reduce the need for expensive and ongoing dust mitigation measures, though the high price tags highlight the significant challenges Utah faces in addressing this growing environmental threat to public health.