Crews hope to remove more sediment this time around so scientific research and safety rescue boats can continue to navigate receding water.
Construction crews are back at the Great Salt Lake State Parks marina, attempting to deepen it once again.
The first dredging project was supposed to launch more than a decade ago, in 2015, when lawmakers appropriated $1.5 million for the job.
But the plan faced delays and engineering hiccups as the Great Salt Lake continued to shrink. The state finally got to work on the marina in 2017 and 2018.
The dredging, however, did not fix the marina’s problems.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Crews work to dredge the Great Salt Lake Marina as water levels continue to drop at the saline lake on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.
“There were some lessons learned,” said Ben Stireman, deputy director of minerals and lands for the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands — which oversees the lakebed that workers are scooping up and hauling away.
The method engineers used on the first attempt, Stireman said, was suction dredging, which pumps lake sediment off the marina floor. The lake’s salty water, however, chewed up the equipment and made it difficult to remove all the material needed.
Dredging crews are back at it again, this time with a bigger budget. Stireman said the project will cost about $4.5 million.
The Division of State Parks said it plans to reopen the marina by October, depending on lake levels.
“Just because we say, ‘Hey, dredging is done,’” said Devan Chavez, spokesperson for state parks, “doesn’t necessarily mean the public is good to go launch their sailboat the next day.”
Declining water levels and a dry marina have created heartache for sailors at the lake. The dredging plans, however, are mostly meant to benefit state boats used for public safety and scientific research.
“There have been paddleboarders lost out there,” Chavez said. “There’s even been some plane crashes in past years.”
Despite a decade of frustrations with the marina, visitation at Great Salt Lake State Park persists. The amount of visitors has swelled in recent years, even as the lake’s water recedes.
Busloads of international tourists disappeared for a few seasons, Chavez said, but now they’re back in force. And headlines about the Great Salt Lake, especially as it teetered on a record low, piqued global curiosity.
“General interest in the lake is up,” Chavez said, “and we are seeing more people wanting to go visit the lake.”
The state park remains open to visitors who want to stargaze, enjoy guided sunset walks or venture to the water’s edge.
Ahead of the busy Labor Day weekend, the lake’s elevation at the marina sat at 4,191.5 feet above sea level. That’s nearly 1.5 feet lower than its elevation at this time last year, and just three feet higher than the historical low it sunk to in late 2022.
