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Climate change induced drought has caused ski resorts to use snowmaking techniques to sustain their business and ski-town economies. But manmade snow uses a lot of energy and water, so resorts are now trying new, environmentally friendly technology.
The sight can be jarring during extreme drought: snowmaking guns lined up on a mountainside, blasting precious crystal flakes on a ski run while the rest of the land goes thirsty.
Some resorts have dug storage ponds to collect water in the spring when it's abundant, while a few are eyeing the use of reclaimed wastewater.
The White River is one of the few remaining streams with natural flows in the Colorado River Basin. Researchers say the thriving fish habitat there shows the need to protect the region’s streams.
Rep. Brad Wilson, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, is convening a Great Salt Lake Summit, and ahead of that summit we’ll be talking to Lynne De Freitas, Executive Director of Friends of the Great Salt Lake; Wayne Wurtsbaugh, USU Emeritus Professor of Watershed Sciences; and Marcelle Shoop, Director of the National Audubon Society’s Saline Lakes Program.