GREAT SALT LAKE

Researchers are worried about metals in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem

Jul 14, 2022, 6:53 PM | Updated: Jul 26, 2022, 3:26 pm

This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake — and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late.

SALT LAKE CITY — While the Great Salt Lake is facing drought and drying up, it’s also fighting off toxic metals entering its waters.

Materials like mercury and lead are entering the Lake’s ecosystem and traveling up through the food chain from the plants to the insects and then the birds.

It’s a problematic chain of events that Dr. Edd Hammill, an associate professor from Watershed Science, is looking into.

“All of these metals are unfortunately very toxic,” Hammill said. “I mean, they include fun things like lead, mercury, selenium, so as a result, they’re not great.”

Dr. Edd Hammil, associate professor with Watershed Science

That’s because those metals tend to bind much more effectively to biological tissues than soils.

So the plants are literally drinking in those pollutants up from within the wetlands, which causes the wildlife to consume the pollutants from them.

“They call the process bio-accumulation and bio-magnification, so because these metals bind to biological tissues, it means that when a predator eats its prey, it ingests all the metals that prey has ever encountered in its life,” Hammill explains.

And that’s a problem. While the food chain here may not make it directly back to us, the toxins stay in the ecosystem both here and beyond, as those metals make it into migratory birds.

“So that means they’re collecting these insects. In some cases, they’re feeding them to their offspring,” Hammill said. “So these brand-new chicks are getting potentially quite big doses of metals straight away, the moment they hatch.”

Chopper 5 viewing the wetlands of the Great Salt Lake.

That’s why a big focus now is getting those materials out of the ecosystem.

Hammill said they’re looking into less-leafy plants that fewer insects eat and that could be put here to soak in those harmful metals as a type of bio-remediation.

“They harvest the plant tissue from the ground, take it somewhere else, bury it deep down in the ground, and that effectively removes it out of the ecosystem,” he continues.

However, it doesn’t fix the main problem of stopping these metals from entering the Great Salt Lake.

“We know full well there’s a lot of industrial processes on the Great Salt Lake. We’ve known for a long time that there are many pathways that these metals can come in, and so it wasn’t unexpected,” Hammill said.

KSL 5 TV Live

Great Salt Lake

(Tanner Siegworth/KSL TV)...

Alex Cabrero

South end of Great Salt Lake up nearly 4 feet since berm raised in February

Most Utahns know the Great Salt Lake is in danger as the effects of the drought shrunk the lake and water levels reached a historic low in 2022.

11 months ago

Draining Lake Powell...

Carter Williams, KSL.com and Matt Johnson, KSL TV

Lake Powell could rise 50 to 90 feet over the next few months

Federal water managers say they believe Lake Powell will rise anywhere between 50 and 90 feet this spring and summer after the nation’s second-largest reservoir dropped to its all-time low again earlier this year.

11 months ago

Follow @KSL5TVLike us on Facebook...

Karah Brackin

Spring runoff water redirected to shrinking Great Salt Lake

To help regulate flooding concerns through the spring runoff season, water conservancy districts are coming together with a solution.

11 months ago

The Great Salt Lake Marina filled with water after being dried out last summer. (KSLTV)...

Dan Rascon

Rush of water to Great Salt Lake means boats can return to marina

Utah residents are celebrating as the Great Salt Lake Marina boat ramps reopened Tuesday due to water returning to the bay. 

12 months ago

Follow @KSL_AlexCabreroLike us on Facebook...

Alex Cabrero

Water levels rising on Great Salt Lake after series of storms

The southern part of the Great Salt Lake is up now up 3 feet from its historic low last year.

12 months ago

Receding Salt Lake...

Kyle Dunphey, Deseret News

Great Salt Lake: Cox urges scientists to ease up on ‘doom and gloom’ messaging

Cox urged the room full of scientists and activists to scale back on what he called the “doom and gloom,” celebrate incremental improvements, and be careful with messaging around the Great Salt Lake.

1 year ago

Sponsored Articles

Stack of old laptops with dark background...

PC Laptops

Old Laptop Upgrades You Need to Try Before Throwing it Away

Get the most out of your investment. Try these old laptop upgrades before throwing it out to keep it running fast and efficient.

Happy diverse college or university students are having fun on their graduation day...

BYU MBA at the Marriott School of Business

How to Choose What MBA Program is Right for You: Take this Quiz Before You Apply!

Wondering what MBA program is right for you? Take this quiz before you apply to see if it will help you meet your goals.

Close up of an offset printing machine during production...

Les Olson IT

Top 7 Reasons to Add a Production Printer to Your Business

Learn about the different digital production printers and how they can help your company save time and money.

vintage photo of lighting showroom featuring chandeliers, lamps, wall lights and mirrors...

Lighting Design

History of Lighting Design | Over 25 Years of Providing Utah With the Latest Trends and Styles

Read about the history of Lighting Design, a family-owned and operated business that paved the way for the lighting industry in Utah.

Fiber Optical cables connected to an optic ports and Network cables connected to ethernet ports...

Brian Huston, CE and Anthony Perkins, BICSI

Why Every Business Needs a Structured Cabling System

A structured cabling system benefits businesses by giving you faster processing speeds and making your network more efficient and reliable.

notebook with password notes highlighted...

PC Laptops

How to Create Strong Passwords You Can Actually Remember

Learn how you can create strong passwords that are actually easy to remember! In a short time you can create new ones in seconds.

Researchers are worried about metals in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem