Utah: Next, a Lesser Salt Lake?

Confronted with the wettest eight-month period in 57 years, commissioners in six Utah counties first applied their customary solution. They urged residents to pray for an end to the rain that has been swelling Great Salt Lake, which has risen 13 ft. in the past five years, threatening Interstate 80, Salt Lake City international airport and shoreline industries that mean $1 billion to the state.

When the rains kept falling, the legislature went beyond prayer. Last week it approved a $72 million plan to pump water from the lake to the barren west desert, creating a 2.5-ft.-deep, 500-sq.-mi. companion lake.