Utah's Great Salt Lake has dropped to 29.7% of its natural capacity. To combat this, the nonprofit Grow the Flow is launching a billboard campaign across the Wasatch Front to advocate for major water cuts.
From 37.5% to 29.7%: A rapid descent for the Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is currently facing a critical ecological threshold, with recent monitoring showing it holds only 29.7% of its natural volume. this precipitous decline follows a period of unusually dry weather and escalating agricultural water demands across the Utah basin. The mismatch between the lake's natural inflow and its current outflow has created a deficit that threatens the state's broader ecosystem and economy.
The nonprofit Grow the Flow launched its Great Salt Lake Tracker in 2025 to provide real-time data on these dwindling levels to the public.. As the report indicates, the organization initially displayed a figure of 37.5% on its roadside plaques to establish a baseline of urgency that remained realistic. In just one year, that number has slid another eight percentage points, highlighting the accelerating nature of the crisis.
Highway billboards from Lehi to North Salt Lake track the decline
Highway billboards stretching from I-15 in Lehi to I-215 in North Salt Lake now serve as high-visibility reminders of this environmental emergency. These displays, managed by Grow the Flow, utilize simple bar graphs and built-in forecasts to show commuters exactly how long the "washout" will continue without intervention. By placing these messages on major arteries of the Wasatch Front, the group aims to ensure that the lake's decline is impossible to ignore during daily commutes.
Samantha Hawkins, the communications director for Grow the Flow, emphasizes that these billboards are designed to act as an emotional incentive for conservation. According to the report, the campaign seeks to transform the public's perception of the lake from a "given" into a "call to action." Hawkins asserts that public visibility is the necessary first step in building the momentum required to solve the basin's water crisis.
A 40% reduction target to reach 2054 goals
Achieving a healthy lake level by 2054 requires a massive, coordinated shift in how Utah manages its water resources. The nonprofit's analysis suggests that the basin must secure an additional 1 million acre-feet of water annually to meet this long-term target. This goal represents a significant escalation from the previous objectives set by Governor Spencer Cox, which focused on a 2034 timeline.
A 40% reduction in water consumption across agriculture, landscaping, and private domestic use is the central pillar of the Grow the Flow strategy. The organization is calling for a ten-fold scale of conservation, including modernizing irrigation efficiency for farmers and encouraging households to invest in low-flow fixtures. This aggressive target is intended to create a new water budget that can sustain the lake for future generations.
Will the 2027 legislative session deliver the promised political will?
The success of these conservation efforts remains tied to the political decisions made during Utah's upcoming 2027 legislative session. While the nonprofit has laid out a clear mathematical path to recovery, it remains unverified whether legislators will actually prioritize the necessary funding and policy shifts. The campaign is specifically designed to build the "public will" that Hawkins says is required to force "political will" in the state capitol.
Significant questions persist regarding the actual feasibility of a 40% reduction in water use across Utah's diverse sectors. It is currently unknown if the state can implement these changes quickly enough to prevent the most severe ecological fallout, such as increased dust storms or damage to water-dependent ski resorts. Furthermore,the report does not clarify how the state will balance these conservation demands with the economic needs of the growing Utah population .
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