07-25-2016, 08:12 PM
To reiterate, the problem is not the users. Regardless of whether it is the NSA, secondary water, or irrigation, they all have legitimate claims and uses for the water. Where the problem is, the water was withheld this spring, keeping the lake at historic lows, concentrating the nutrients, resulting in the massive bloom when the weather got hot. All those users still had claim to their water and it was pumped out of the lake while small amounts were released downstream form Jordanelle and Deer Creek. All that did was replace some of the water being used downstream, it did nothing to mitigate the building problem in Utah Lake. Down stream users cannot be blamed because they have a legitimate right to their water. They even got screwed because when the bloom occurred, they were denied the use of their water as sportsman have been denied the use of the lake. They have legitimate complaints as to how the water has been distributed also, so don't blame them for the problem, they did not create it.
They are pumping water out of the lake into the Jordan to fulfill the downstream obligations, totally legitimate, but are they releasing sufficient water from Jordanelle and Deer Creek to help alleviate the problem, I don't believe they are, just enough to meet the downstream demand. Also, I do not believe that they can really do anything now to relieve the problem, we will have to wait till nature solves it this fall when the temps cool, the rain and snow come, and the wind and waves break it up. The damage is done and nothing we can do now will be able to change it !!
To say things are improving is not true. All that has occurred is that they have determined that water can be released from Utah Lake so that downstream users can resume using what is rightfully theirs. Again, the BIG problem will come when all this algae dies, depletes the oxygen, and massive fish kills occur. Remember, it will not only kill the fish, which are the top of the food chain, but will also kill off the macro and micro invertebrates that form the base of the food chain out there. Insect larvae, zooplankton, etc will also suffer great damage that will take years to recover from. These clowns have really done a great deal of damage to Utah Lake, damage that will take years to recover from.
They are pumping water out of the lake into the Jordan to fulfill the downstream obligations, totally legitimate, but are they releasing sufficient water from Jordanelle and Deer Creek to help alleviate the problem, I don't believe they are, just enough to meet the downstream demand. Also, I do not believe that they can really do anything now to relieve the problem, we will have to wait till nature solves it this fall when the temps cool, the rain and snow come, and the wind and waves break it up. The damage is done and nothing we can do now will be able to change it !!
To say things are improving is not true. All that has occurred is that they have determined that water can be released from Utah Lake so that downstream users can resume using what is rightfully theirs. Again, the BIG problem will come when all this algae dies, depletes the oxygen, and massive fish kills occur. Remember, it will not only kill the fish, which are the top of the food chain, but will also kill off the macro and micro invertebrates that form the base of the food chain out there. Insect larvae, zooplankton, etc will also suffer great damage that will take years to recover from. These clowns have really done a great deal of damage to Utah Lake, damage that will take years to recover from.