Boats are back at Great Salt Lake: Water levels rebound after hitting record lows in 2022

Nearly a year after reaching a record-low water level, boats were brought back to the Great Salt Lake Park and Marina on Tuesday.

It's the first time boats have returned to the marina since they were pulled in August 2022, when it was going dry and had historically low levels of water. At its lowest, the lake's water surface elevation measured at 4,188.2 feet in November 2022.

On Tuesday, a large crane lifted around 50 boats into the marina, which is seeing rebounding levels of water, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The lake's water level measured 4,193.8 feet as of Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“It’s so nice to be back on the lake,” Chase Burch told the outlet after his boat was lowered into the water Tuesday. "It's pretty unexpected."

The rising of water levels comes after a wet winter in Utah. The state received its biggest snowpack and the seventh wettest January to April season since at least 1895, contributing to a 5-foot increase in water levels at Great Salt Lake, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.

More on the Great Salt Lake: Experts warned the Great Salt Lake was about to disappear – then came a wet winter. What now?

Great Salt Lake still in a drought

Experts are still warning that the Great Salt Lake needs help to survive and recover completely. The Salt Lake City area is considered to be in a complete drought area, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System. The lake is not being replenished by rivers in the area because that water is going toward agriculture, and overall rising temperatures means the lake is evaporating faster.

The average historical water level of the lake is 4,198.1 feet, while the highest its measured was 4,204.60 feet, which occurred in 1855. The median historical water level measures 4,197.72 feet.

While the water level is still considered to be low by the Great Salt Lake State Park, the return of the boats is welcomed after some believed the area would never recover from receding water levels.

"This buys another year, another two. It doesn't solve the problem but it gives us the breathing room we need to implement comprehensive solutions," Benjamin Abbott, a professor of ecosystem ecology at Brigham Young University, told USA TODAY last month in response to Great Salt Lake's increasing water supply. "I think we need to be really wise how to use this gift."

Contributing: Trevor Hughes and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Great Salt Lake water levels increase; boats return to park, marina