The Nation : Utah Seeks to Lower Lake

Utah’s Legislature opened a special session to consider ways of lowering the Great Salt Lake, which has reached its highest recorded level and raised fears it could inundate an interstate highway and two rail lines. Gov. Norman H. Bangerter urged quick action on a $55-million proposal to pump some of the water into the desert. Heavy spring storms have pushed the lake to 4,211.65 feet above sea level, capping a four-year climb of 11 feet that has doubled the lake’s volume to 30 million acre-feet. The water has caused $175 million in damage since 1983.