Is Utah Lake worth saving?

[Anglinarcher]

[quote Dirty42]OK, so I'm no expert with this stuff, but I might have an idea. Even though its a little bit of a stretch, I think it could work if applied correctly.

I have a reef tank that has occasional algae blooms. One flared up recently and I found that my protein skimmer wasn't running all that well as it usually does when this happens, but a powerhead had also seized up, making this one especially nasty.

One big issue with the lake is the way it flows, more specifically how it doesn't have much of any flow. In my reef tank, powerheads are used to create an artificial current. Since we're not likely to get more water feeding into the lake, would it be possible to create an artificial current in one or two areas? Beyond the issue of initial cost, maintenance, and power consumption, I feel the lake could benefit from something like that if it were located in the right area and moved enough water. To cut costs, I imagine you could shut it down in the off season with minimal negative impact.

At the very least, its a crazy idea that can be built on a bit.[/quote]

Not crazy, just not practical. If every drop of water that flows in the rivers was allowed to pass the dams into the lake, it would raise the level, but not fill it on most years. Additionally, the only current would be at the inlets.

Creating a current on the lake would be impossible without a couple of nuclear power plants running pumps. LOL I am an Engineer, and I have to do flow calculations on occasion, and what you suggest would take some monster pumps with monster power. Probably costing more then the State of Utah's GDP.

But, often the best ideas come from brainstorming. Perhaps we could use the wind by creating direction barriers in the water that would utilize the prevailing wind to generate current. That happens already and once we get the wind it does stir up the lake and helps a lot. The calculations we be difficult, but it might be possible.

Perhaps your idea could lead to a solution, an expensive one, and potentially full of its own environmental issues, but ........ maybe.

[fishin]
[signature]