By Matthew Clarke

Utah Lake is quiet in the morning. Very slowly the waterscape seems to awaken with color as the sun climbs over the Wasatch Mountains, throwing golden beams that dance along the water's blue-green surface.

From the look of it, a person might say the idyllic-looking Utah Lake is clean and healthy, but state officials say the lake has a few major problems they intend to deal with, including threats to humans seeking recreation and animals inhabiting the area.

Ty Hunter, manager of Utah Lake State Park, said people should keep the lake's condition in context.

"We have a healthy lake," he said. "But, yeah, it has a cold."

There are many issues from all sources that play into the health of Utah Lake. Hunter said some people like to find scapegoats like Geneva Steel to explain complex water quality issues, but he thinks the pollutants that end up in the lake are more likely a product of agricultural chemicals.

Hunter said his job is to facilitate recreation at the park in a way that presents as little environmental harm as possible. He said in order to do this, he wants to make Utah locals aware of their litter problem.

In addition to wrappers and other small garbage, Hunter has often found large appliances dumped by the lakeside. Money spent to collect and dispose of items dumped at the lake is a substantial drain on funds, he said.

Some people engage in a different type of waste dumping, Hunter said, when they discharge toilets on the open water. He said the problem is entirely avoidable because there are septic disposal facilities near the marina.

Dave Johnson from the Utah Department of Environmental Health said although it would be difficult to quantify the risks involved in dumping human waste on the open water, it should be avoided.

"It's not a great practice," he said.

Johnson said human waste dumping was once a substantial problem at Lake Powell because fecal waste was turning up near the shoreline where people were swimming.

Utah Lake is a popular recreation area for people in Utah, but for some of Utah's animals, it is a permanent residence. Several species of fish call Utah Lake home, including bass, trout, walleye and catfish, but two species of particular interest are the endangered June sucker and the non-native common carp. Chris Keleher from the state Department of Natural Resources' June sucker recovery program said the carp have been damaging to both the Utah Lake environment and to the June sucker population.

Keleher said because carp feed along the lake bottom, they have rooted up much of the aquatic vegetation younger fish use to hide from predators. He also said the carp stir up sediment that clouds the water, making it unhealthy for fish and unattractive for humans.

Keleher said if people could prevent carp from tearing up the lake bottom habitat, all fish species would benefit.

"Because of that habitat complexity, you get more diversity," he said.

Because carp are one of the June sucker's major predators, Keleher said members of the June Sucker Recovery Implementation Program are trying to discover whether it is feasible to remove carp in interest of stabilizing a healthy June sucker population.

He said their research also turned up a separate problem. Some of Utah Lake's carp tested high in Polychlorinated Biphenals, or PCBs, a chemical that can cause cancer in laboratory animals. Keleher said members of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health will cooperate to test other Utah Lake species this year.

Keleher said the Department of Natural Resources has not yet decided whether to reduce the carp population.

"Right now we're in research mode," he said.

He said with the help of an environmental consulting firm and BYU professor Richard Kellens, the department intends to arrive at a good decision soon.

Keleher said if the Department of Natural Resources decides to engage a population reduction plan, the carp population would be reduced by about 75 percent within seven years and by 90 percent within nine years. He also said the harvested carp would be put to good use. The carp could be used in the production of biodiesel, livestock feed supplements or protein supplements.

The June sucker is having a successful spawning season this year, Keleher said. However, he said the department is trying to encourage the sucker to find additional spawning grounds as well as expanding the sucker's captive breeding program.

Nathan Darnall, an ecologist with the Division of Fish and Wildlife, said PCB contamination could pose a risk to June sucker reproduction, however. He said because the fish can live to be 40 years old, they have longer-term exposure to the contaminant, which can actually disrupt their reproductive functions.

Hunter said he appreciates all the work that is being done to diagnose and treat the lake's ills. He said he would love for people to enjoy the lake for many years to come.

Copyright Brigham Young University 28 Jun 2006