Dust from the shrinking Great Salt Lake generates an estimated $1.1 billion to $2.3 billion in health costs each year, while the health benefits of increasing inflows could exceed the costs of acquiring that water, according to a new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
“Dust in the Wind: The Health Costs of Great Salt Lake Desiccation” was authored by Lena Harris of Texas A&M University, Eric C. Edwards of the University of California Davis and Danae Hernandez-Cortes of Arizona State University.
The study found that every additional 100 square kilometers (39 square miles) of exposed lakebed increased PM2.5 pollution by about 0.8 to 0.9 micrograms per cubic meter near the lake, with even larger increases in areas directly downwind. Effects were detected up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) away — an area where 86 percent of Utahns live.
Based on previous estimates of health damages from emergency room visits and lost years of life, the authors estimate the resulting pollution costs to be $1.1 billion to $2.3 billion annually in emergency room visits and lost years of life.
“Yes, there is uncertainty of how much pollution is being caused by the lake. But no matter how we slice it, we find that there is a non-negligible effect of dust coming off the lake, and it’s having pretty meaningful health impacts,” Harris said. “We view this as the first step in helping policymakers know the health costs of Great Salt Lake dust.”
Researchers also compared the health benefits of getting more water to the lake with the estimated cost of acquiring water from agricultural users — about $432 to $975 per acre-foot. For every additional acre-foot of water that reaches Great Salt Lake, the authors estimate Utah receives about $600 to $1,800 worth of health benefits from reduced dust pollution alone.
“The purchase cost will probably be less than the value it’s providing to Utahns. All that value in reduced health costs flows to all the residents in Utah,” said Edwards. “It justifies big expenditures to reduce those health costs. You don’t have to save the whole lake to start protecting people’s health. Even a little bit of water will provide benefits.”
The authors noted that these estimates capture only the health benefits associated with reducing particulate pollution. Restoring Great Salt Lake also has significant benefits for the ecosystem, wildlife, economy and more, they said.