Of course, there are some things beyond their control. Shallow water is one of them. “At a maximum of 14 feet deep, Utah Lake is extremely shallow for its surface area of approximately 96,000 acres,” says Chris Keleher, assistant director of recovery programs at the Department. “As a result of activities associated with human development, shallow lakes often switch from a clear water state to a turbid water state.”
In other words, large numbers of humans (i.e. Utah County, population over 500,000) are good at mucking up shallow lakes. Deeper lakes are better at withstanding human impact than shallow ones. So right off the bat, Utah Lake is at a geological and sociological disadvantage.
Worse still, we made things tougher on the Lake and its water quality while interfering with its residents. By the late 1800s, we had depleted the Lake of its native inhabitants by overfishing, says Keleher. To replace the food source (a man’s gotta eat!), carp were brought in.
At first, they served their purpose well. “Carp are prolific, grow very fast, and were viewed as a good substitute for the native stocks,” explains, Keleher. Unfortunately, the foreign fish also wrecked havoc on the Lake’s ecosystem.
You see, carp are bottom-feeders. They root around the lake floor, kicking up dust in search of food. They also consume aquatic vegetation, says Keleher, something Utah Lake was never prepared for. “Without aquatic plants, the biodiversity of a shallow lake system declines significantly,” he says. Once the underwater plants are gone, bottom sediments are easily disturbed and suspended in the water as a result of wave activity.
“With the Utah Lake carp population at about 7.5 million (roughly 75 percent of all fish in the lake) averaging close to six pounds each,” explains Keleher, “they undoubtedly contribute a significant amount to the Lake’s murky appearance through their foraging behavior.”
Consequently, we humans owe Utah Lake a huge apology. Which is why in September of 2009, the Department of Natural Resources began an extensive carp removal program which continues today. So far, more than 4 million pounds of pesky carp have been removed by commercial fishermen. Less than 10 percent of the total.
But it’s an encouraging start, especially when you consider the finish line, says Keleher. “Scientific literature suggests that carp reduction by 75 percent is necessary to switch a shallow lake from a turbid water state to a clear water state,” he says. “With a sustained effort, this reduction at Utah Lake could be achieved in 6-7 years.”
Not everyone believes in the carp control, however. “I have long expressed my personal opinion that carp removal will likely hurt future fishing and endangered species efforts,” says local fisherman Dan Potts. “It’s a complete waste of millions of taxpayer dollars.”
Potts’ thinking is partly why funding has not been approved for the entire removal period. In light of this, even Keleher admits it’s not an exact science. “One cannot be certain how an ecosystem will respond to managed activities.”
But he believes it’s better than the alternative. “Without taking action, Utah Lake will continue to be the way that it is now, or get worse. To restore the lake, we must be willing to manage the factors that are contributing to its turbid condition, primarily the dominance of carp.”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6u7r0dbw1I[/youtube]
Glad to see something is being done. Utah Lake has so much potential to be an amazing place.
I agree with Mr. Keleher, doing something, is better than nothing. But I’m no expert in this field, and Chris is.
What difference does clear vs murky water make? None that I can see. I can see a big difference by saving the $20M on this pork barrel idea.
If a private company wanted to come in and they could find $20M worth of value in changing a silty lake to a clear lake, then by all means they should be allowed to do so.
Otherwise government needs to keep their hands out of my pocket and off my property!
Well then you must be blind if you can’t SEE a difference between clear and murky water. Did you even read the article? Murky water is damaging to native fish and plant life.
Now, I’m a conservative republican and I’m all for limited government involvement and control, but if there’s one thing I greatly appreciate both the federal and state governments for, it’s the preservation and conservation of out State’s parks, lakes, and natural beauty. Unbelievable that you think we should just leave it alone and hopefully some business will step in and get it done, that would never ever happen! Especially if there’s no money to be made from it. Sometimes (and I do mean sometimes) government involvement is necessary.
I’m very happy they’re cleaning up Utah Lake, and as a Utah tax payer, I’m more than willing to contribute a teeny tiny portion of my income to help it look beautiful again.
Exactly. nacilbupera probably thinks fire departments should be privatized too.
And what happens when carp removal efforts stop after six or seven years and the carp just repopulate to their previous numbers? they produce around 500,000 eggs per carp. the only way to hopefully get rid of the carp would be to poison the lake and tributarys.
What can I do to help out?
In college I did a paper on Utah Lake while working on my environmental science degree. The lake has an average of 13 feet of silt on the bottom, which was deposited there when overlogging and overgrazing on the land around the lake led to erosion. If I recall, the drainages into Utah Lake lost an average of four inches of topsoil, which ended up in the lake. When the pioneers arrived, Utah Lake used to be deep, probably about 25 feet deep or so, which was one reason it contained 20 to even 40-pound cutthroat trout, and now it’s full of mud. Storms in shallow lakes constantly move the silt and make the water turgid. Even without carp, Utah Lake will never be clear again unless we get rid of the silt, and that probably won’t happen unless someone finds a market for the silt and dredges the lake. The Spanish Fork River still deposits tons and tons of silt in the lake every year. I view the efforts to bring back June suckers about as pointless and fruitless as getting the silt out of the lake. As for carp, they reproduce so quickly that we will never rid the lake of them though it certainly could be possible to reduce their numbers if a massive netting operation were to take place every single year. I would like to see predators big enough to eat young carp introduced to the lake. Because of the June suckers, I doubt the state will ever stock tiger muskies, but they could do a number on those small carp. I certainly don’t see as many carp in Newton or Pineview reservoirs as I used to see, and I suspect the tiger muskies have something to do with that.
Finally someone speaking that has done some research into why the lake is muddy rather than blaming it on a fish.
The lake is pretty much dead unless the silt is removed.
Lakes need a good balance of predators and non predatory fish, it also needs a natural filtration system like weeds.
None of this will happen if the weeds have nothing to hold on to.
Paul,
Thanks for commenting! The turbid nature of the water in Utah Lake is due to several factors, at least. Two of those are sediment buildup and the decrease in bottom vegetation due to carp eating habits. As to the removal of sediment, it is a large and difficult task. The Utah Lake Commission and our partners continue to support innovative ideas for dredging that are logically and financially feasible.
I hate to see gov waste as much as anyone, but keep in mind the potential economic boon to our community if the lake was cleaner and clearer.
The best thing that could happen to Utah lake is that someone comes in and does a full job cleaning up the lake. That includes dredging it out and removing all the silt, but also includes removing the majority of the envasive species as well ie carp. If the lake were a quality summer recreation spot, both boating and fishing wise it could mean huge things for the local economy. Can you imagine a large resort with marina right on the lake for tourists and locals to enjoy. House boat, jetski and wakeboard rentals along with hotels, restaurants, and other businesses lining the shores. Clear deeper water could turn it into a popular spot to be. Maybe it’s a pipe dream and a big one at that, but done right it could turn out as a huge opportunity.
Check out the meaning of invasive species.
This could include: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Large Mouth Bass, Catfish, Common Carp, Walleye. The list goes on and on.
Take a look at the actual list of Utah’s native fish species.
Bear lake, Mountain and Bonneville Whitefish
Bonneville Cisco
Bonneville, Colorado River and Yellowstone Cutthroat
Utah, June and Mountain Sucker
Dace
Chub Skulpin
Paul,
Thanks for the comment! While it is true that there are many invasive species in Utah, work on eradicating them must have priorities. Currently, the various agencies and groups that work on Utah Lake are most concerned with: carp and northern pike and phragmites. Carp removal has been ongoing for years, however northern pike is a growing concern. They were transplanted illegally into Utah Lake in more recent years, but research is showing if left unchecked they could decimate the Utah Lake ecosystem, possibly more severely than carp have. Phragmites is an invasive weed that the Utah Lake Commission has partnered with Utah County to eradicate. Funding comes from the DWR WRI grant program and UDAF’s ISM fund. Each year, County crews works to chemically and mechanically treat the phragmites in an effort to stop its growth and work towards eradication.
True, it is an uphill battle. Each year, as new research is done here and elsewhere, we are revising our efforts to match best practices and effectively complete that work.
I for one am all for getting the Carp population down as much as possible in Utah Lake, but blaming the Carp for all the muddy water is silly. Every time the wind blows it stirs up the mud. You can go to the west side of the lake and go to the top of the close hills on a non windy day see the mud trail left by every boat that traveled the area. The only way that Utah Lake water can be clear is to dramatically increase its depth.
Please stop.
You don’t know what you are doing. Carp is a very intelligent species. Carp are feeding in the whole water and not only on the bottom. Clouds that appear from carp feeding disappear in about 5-10 minutes so you are NOT solving the problem by this. There are literally millions of lakes over the whole world with carp in the and they are as crystal clear as they can get. Are the carp in there not feeding?? I think you have more likely a current problem that causes the clouds. I would investigate more before throwing a lot of money and carp away.
See the clear water for your self.
Greetings Michael from the Netherlands. In my country we treat all fish with respect a specially carp
Clear water with carp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhj-vBMdmsY
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEhANYVDUnc
or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6BpZ3v_6Q
I have a boat at lindon Marina.
the draft of the keel is six ft.
I understand that the entrance to the harbor has a depth of 7 ft at the present time.
Approximately how many more weeks will It be before the entrance is 6 ft or less?
Is there some place on the internet where the average depth of the lake is published.
I understand a new contractor is now in charge of the Lindon Lake marina.
the security and grading of the storage area is a big inprovement to the area.
What is the name and phone number of the individual responsible for these improvements.
Is he also responsible for the save operation of boats in the marina area?
Management of our water resources is critical this year and has been a major concern for the professional and recreational lake users for some years. I wish their was someway to add 5 to 10 ft of water to extend the boating season.
Thank-you for your consideration.
This website stated that dead carp is used by farmers as a way to fertilize fields and gardens. Is there a way to obtain any of the dead carp for fertilizing our own gardens. I know that this is a great source of nutrients for our Utah soils. Please email any information you have. Thank you.
Once the carp numbers are down and the lake does clear up, are we going to continue to pay Loy to net Carp?
One solution would to set some money aside for a archery shoot/fishing contest during the carp spawn. But until there is not a single carp left in the lake, there is a carp problem
I hope i wasn’t mislead. Everyone in Utah knows human waste, leeches and warms are in the lake. On animal planet i was told carp eat waste same as tulapia (poo). So wouldn’t the carp actually help clean up the waste in Utah Lake?
Human waste hasn’t been directly deposited into the lake since the 1950s. Since that time, all of the sewage water has gone through wastewater treatment facilities before it enters the lake. Additionally, Mother Nature does a good job of naturally cleaning the waste from the lake. With several rivers going into the lake and one river going out of the lake, as well as evaporation, it doesn’t take long for all of the water in the lake to be replaced. That cycle has happened many times since the last time human waste was directly deposited into the lake.
Due to the murky nature of the lake, there are still many misconceptions about the water quality and the reasons that the water isn’t as clear as other lakes. As stated in the article, the carp actually contribute to the murkiness of the lake. Continued carp removal will benefit the lake and improve the water quality.
Would love to see some dredging of the lake as well. Perhaps the military could provide the equipment and man power. I support the carp removal efforts. I hope we can sustain the push well into the future.
Wouldn’t it be easier to just drain the lake, push out the silt and make it 10 feet deeper, and then sell all the fish as fertilizer. Other option would be to put up a levee system around the lake and then raise the water level while continuing the carp netting efforts. I know both of these ideas would cost a lot, but at least it would work, instead of spending a lot of money on something that’s not going to work.
I’ve also thought a lot about the potential of draining the lake and digging out all that silt to a dept of 30 feet. I wonder how feasible such an idea is?
Along with the removal. Let’s vote on putting some vegetation in the lake again. With millions of species of water plants, I am sure we can find something to solidify the bottom of the lake. Without a plan … we will be back to square one. I’m noticing a difference already in the clarity but why not plant some vegetation as well?
The efforts have greatly improved the water quality. I wish that with the carp removal they could take the bugs too. Is there anything being done about the bugs
The County Mosquito Abatement Crew targets areas with high concentrations of mosquitoes, but there are currently no other organized efforts to reduce the bug issue.
A Vineyard resident recently told me that the rise of Vineyard as a community was made possible not just because of the departure of Geneva Steel, but also good bug abatement.
Yesterday, I wondered out loud to Orem’s Mayor Brunst whether he ever thought about draining the lake. (I meant permanently, but he may have taken it like the suggestions above – drain, dredge, refill – I don’t know). His quick reaction was that water reclamation (sewage plants) for all of the communities are at the edge of the lake, I suppose to release the reclaimed water into the lake. This and many other factors make drainage of the lake much more complicated than it sounds.
My interest in the subject came up when thinking about explosive population growth in Utah County and the minimal recreation value, and even the storm-wave dangers, of the shallow lake. Of course, migrating birds and the carp would be offended, not to mention those who love their view of the lake. But the dredging idea brings up the question of whether the waterway could be managed to provide more recreation and beauty without hurting animals, say by deepening and dramatic shrinkage of surface area. Some of the reclaimed surface area could be planted to make parks, and safe water recreation could become a possibility.
I am a layman, and probably the experts would consider the idea impractical, but I thought it was about time for another entry to this lovely blog. Thank you, Mr. Ellis, if you are still there, for your service to Utah County!
Well, I am grateful there are those who want to clean-up Utah Lake. It could be a nice place for families to spend a day “at the beach” if we brought in sand. It could be beautiful and clear water by decreasing the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the lake. Maybe even as David, Chase, and Dustin suggested, making parts of the lake much deeper – it’s easier to keep a deep lake clean than a shallow, wide-spread lake.
Now, years after this commission started, what are we doing now? Have we ridden the lake of the necessary carp? Have we planted vegetation to keep the dirt from being kicked up? What areas do we need help?
Thank you lake commission for taking a stand in restoring Utah Lake; I think we still have much to do.
And PS. Why don’t we have a bike trail all way around the lake? It doesn’t need to be paved, just a path for everyone to enjoy.
Ooh! There is already one in the works! Check out our blog post from just a few weeks ago about the planned 98.2 mile trail around the whole lake! Here’s the link:
https://utahlake.gov/98-2-mile-utah-lake-shoreline-trail/
Oliver,
Thank you for your comments and questions! We enjoy hearing from residents who care about Utah Lake as much as we do. As to your first point about sand, this year, both Lindon Marina and the Utah Lake State Park brought in more sand to improve their beaches for those visiting the lake. The city of American Fork improved its boat harbor by creating their own beach, cleared of most of the vegetation and laying down sand for beach use.
As to the nutrients in the lake, there are ongoing research projects on those topics that are seeking solutions.
Dredging the lake has always been a popular idea, however the cost of such a project, and the other regulations for dredging are often forgotten. Estimates for dredging the whole lake have consistently been presented in the BILLIONS of dollars. However, there are dredging options being entertained at the moment that may be more feasible. Also, we should note, dredging on a smaller scale has happened before and does currently happen to improve the public marinas on the lake. Saratoga Springs just finished dredging their marina, and the Utah Lake State Park aims to dredge their marina this winter.
As to carp removal, the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program will have more information to answer your questions (junesuckerrecovery.org) but we can say that as of this year, they have removed over 25 million pounds of carp and have seen significant impacts on the carp population on the lake.
Any new updates?
Will,
Thanks for the question. Yes, there have been many updates since this post was originally written. The Commission is currently working on a new page for our website that will have updates on carp removal as well as other projects on the lake, such as: marina dredging projects, trails, phragmites treatment, etc. Stay tuned for that! Also, you could check out junesuckerrecovery.org, the website of the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program, the group responsible for carp removal.
We would like to know the status of the carp removal. I am seeing improvements in Pragmites removal but asking more details and numbers on the carp removal. Also, are there plans to incorporate vegetation to solidify the bottom?