SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Rivers Council (URC) unveiled Wednesday its 4,200 Project, a detailed plan to sustainably raise the water levels in the Great Salt Lake over the course of the next two decades.

The nonprofit’s plan seeks to hold Utah’s elected officials accountable for implementing solutions to the crisis facing the drying lake. The project is an ambitious look at policy solutions the URC proposes to help restore the Great Salt Lake.

The name of the project is a reference to the level of feet above sea level the URC has established as the official goal for water levels to reach to be considered healthy. The URC has identified the complex issues facing the Great Salt Lake and has worked this past year to put together policies, legislations, and cooperatives they feel need to be established and maintained to begin the work needed to restore lake levels.

The team has also published a related 4,200 Project Guidebook, a comprehensive campaign containing what the URC believes are concrete policies to address the crisis facing the Great Salt Lake.

According to the nonprofit, the guidebook is “a ‘one-stop shop’ for our proposed solutions to educate and empower the public, elected officials, and other stakeholders to get involved in the effort to save the Great Salt Lake. It provides background on the Great Salt Lake crisis and dives deep into proposed policy solutions to get water to the Lake. The appendix of the report even includes prepared bill language for supporters and members of the public to take to their local legislators.”

URC officials said they have sponsors lined up to help with the financial requirements of such an extensive effort, adding more information about funds and budgets will be released over the coming months.

The group is also hopeful about the inter-state efforts that need to happen to meet their goals and that legislation can be made before the lake suffers what could be another setback after a potentially less-than-ideal water winter coming up.  

Those interested in learning more about the 4,200 Project can visit the website. You can read the Guidebook and sign the 4,200 Project Pledge; a call to action that outlines five different opportunities to get involved in the efforts.