Scientists are flying research missions over northern Utah to understand better how ozone forms and how a shrinking Great Salt Lake, wildfire smoke and other factors affect the state's air quality.

A new commissioner and a new agriculture water leasing initiative could be the answer to bringing the Great Salt Lake out of its disastrous state.

Since 2019, there have been seven different releases of a special kind of firefighting foam at the airport. Officials stress they are always on the lookout for spills, with three fire stations on site, an operations team, as well as 37 spill kits spread across the airport for rapid response.

The Utah Investigative Journalism Project reviewed 174 reports made to the state spills database from 2019 through the first half of 2024 that specifically related to pollution of storm drains and some of the main surface waters that feed the Great Salt Lake.

There are more than 800 square miles of exposed lakebed, and researchers are just beginning to understand how pervasive the dust problem is.

All of the gains the Great Salt Lake made over the winter will likely dissipate by the end of summer. Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed urges Utahns to be mindful of their water usage.

The UCLA study says Utah trails other Colorado River Basin states when it comes to cleaning and reusing wastewater. Propping up the Great Salt Lake, however, complicates things.