Families in Utah are making difficult decisions to leave their homes because of health risks tied to the drying Great Salt Lake, particularly for children with asthma and other respiratory conditions. The Cardon family, whose three of four children have severe asthma, is relocating to Kansas City when the school year ends, driven by concerns about dust containing heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and lithium that could worsen their children's breathing problems .

What Health Risks Does a Drying Salt Lake Create?

As the Great Salt Lake continues to shrink due to decades of drought, higher temperatures, and water diversion for farming and cities, the exposed lakebed becomes a source of hazardous dust. The lake's south arm dropped to a record low in 2022 and has dipped back down to dangerous levels, with Utah snowpack at an all-time low . When wind picks up dust from the lakebed, it carries toxic residue that poses serious respiratory threats.

Brian Moench, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and a retired anesthesiologist, warned that the dust contains residue from mining, pesticides, nuclear testing, and forever chemicals. "All the toxic byproducts of modern civilization are embedded in that dust," he stated . For families like the Cardons, who live about an hour's drive from the southern shore, these dust storms represent a real and growing threat to their children's ability to breathe.

Research from other drying saline lakes shows the real-world consequences. Kevin Perry, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah, noted that researchers have identified health problems from other drying saline lakes, finding reduced lung function in children breathing dust from southern California's Salton Sea . Perry emphasized the need for thorough study and monitoring in Utah, saying he pushed the state in 2022 to answer critical questions about the dust's health impacts.

How Many Utahns Are Considering Leaving Because of the Lake?

The Cardons are not alone in their concerns. A statewide survey of 800 Utahns conducted in 2024 by researchers at Utah State University found that nearly a quarter considered risks tied to the lake in their family planning decisions. More significantly, 35% indicated they have thought about moving because of the lake's desiccation .

Qualitative research reveals the emotional weight of these decisions. In focus groups conducted in 2024 and 2025, participants drew images of themselves and illustrated where on their bodies they saw being affected by the lake. One participant drew a red "X" over the body's uterus and a broken heart in the chest. Stacia Ryder, an assistant professor of sociology at Utah State University, recalled one participant explaining her concerns: "I know how the poor air quality can have really long-term, devastating effects. Even if I'm healthy in any and every other way" . Ryder herself has wondered if her own daughter, now just a year old, will develop asthma or another respiratory issue growing up in Ogden.

Steps to Protect Your Family's Respiratory Health During Environmental Changes

• Monitor Air Quality Daily: Check local air quality reports and wildfire smoke forecasts regularly, especially during seasons when dust storms or smoke are more likely to occur in your area.
• Create an Asthma Action Plan: Work with your healthcare provider to develop a written plan that outlines daily management, warning signs, and emergency steps if respiratory symptoms worsen due to poor air quality.
• Invest in Home Air Filtration: Use HEPA filters in your home and consider portable air purifiers for bedrooms to reduce exposure to dust and particulates when outdoor air quality is poor.
• Stay Informed About Environmental Changes: Keep up with local environmental monitoring efforts and research on how climate change and water loss may affect your region's air and water quality over time.

The state has begun taking action to address the crisis. Utah set aside $1 million for a new dust monitor network to detect, capture, and analyze what's blowing into communities, with crews installing the devices now . However, progress has been slow. Governor Spencer Cox set an ambitious goal to restore the lake by the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, requiring an additional 800,000 acre-feet of water each year. From 2021 to 2025, conservation efforts resulted in only 400,000 acre-feet sent to the Great Salt Lake, meaning the state is only halfway toward its annual goal .

Joel Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, acknowledged that families like the Cardons are in a holding pattern while new projects take effect. Ferry, who himself had asthma as a child, understands the stakes. "I can remember waking up and not being able to breathe," he said. "The fear of that, the terror that it brings to someone, is real" . The state has implemented new programs to reimburse farmers for irrigation upgrades, measure household water use, and created an easier system for farmers to get paid to leave fields dry.

Despite these efforts, the Cardons remain skeptical that Utah leaders will do all that's needed to save the lake. They are concerned about the state's rapid growth and its efforts pushing back on federal air pollution standards. As Adrienne Cardon explained, "It feels like it's hard to get a straight answer about, do I have to leave? If I do, at what point do I have to leave? How bad does it have to get?" . Their 12-year-old son, Elliot, believes the lake could have been protected earlier if the state had acted faster. Their 5-year-old, Graham, described thick pollution as "kind of like a peanut," referencing his peanut allergy to convey how serious the air quality feels to him.

The story of the Cardon family illustrates a broader reality: climate change and environmental degradation are not abstract concerns for many Americans. For families with children who have respiratory conditions, these changes are forcing real, immediate decisions about where they can safely live and raise their families.