From 1982-1987 a lot of rain and snow fell in the Salt Lake area. The snow melted in the spring and went into the streams and rivers which got higher. The rivers and streams brought more water to the Great Salt Lake so there was more water going in than evaporating so the Great Salt Lake went up and flooded different areas. It got as high as 4212 feet aboue sea level, the highest it had been since people started measuring it.

Lots of things happened. The new Saltair resort had to close because it got flooded. The road to Antelope Island and other highways and roads were damaged by the water. The companies who got salt from the lake did not get as much because the water wasn't evaporating fast and there was more freshwater. Many places that birds would stop at were flooded so they had to stop different places. The Great Salt flats could not be used for racing cars as much. In some areas farms and homes were flooded too. In Salt Lake City, some streams had too much water so the people made a river down the middle of State Street. There was over $100 million dollars of damage.

People worked very hard. They put up sandbags and worked together to protect their houses and property. Some pumps were built to put some of the water out into the desert. In the desert, the water evaporated. The pumps worked for two years and the lake became lower by 6 feet. The weather got drier too and that helped make the water go down too. The pumps are sitting now, waiting for the next flood. Here is a picture of how the pumps worked.

Image copyright by Pat Bean and the Ogden Standard-Examiner and may not be used without prior permission.

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