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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - May 28, 2025 - The Great Salt Lake depends on freshwater from snow-fed rivers like the Jordan River, which supplies about 22% of its freshwater inflows. But this system has been heavily altered over time by dams, diversions, and development. One of the last and most critical structures in this network, Burton Dam, has been in a state of disrepair for years, losing precious water. Now, thanks to a recently completed restoration project led by Ducks Unlimited (DU), in partnership with the New State Duck Club (NSDC), Burton Dam has been reconstructed and modernized, restoring a vital link in the lake’s water delivery system.

Located at the northern end of the Jordan River, Burton Dam directs water into the NSDC, a privately managed wetland complex, and eventually into the Farmington Arm of Great Salt Lake. The NSDC has managed this landscape since the late 1800s and played a critical role in conserving habitat in an area increasingly pressured by development. The aging dam structure limited the club’s ability to manage water effectively, causing significant annual losses, up to 7,000 acre-feet of freshwater. The new infrastructure, including a tilting weir and stop-log system, now allows for precise flow control, greater capacity, and reliable delivery of excess water to the lake.

The outflow structure on the sewage canal was also retrofitted, replacing stop logs with an automatic weir gate, increasing capacity and ensuring more consistent water delivery to Farmington Bay, a critical estuarine habitat that has been severely impacted by lakebed desiccation in recent years.

In addition, new monitoring equipment will be installed at Burton Dam and the canal outflow, providing accurate data on how much water is reaching NSDC and flowing into the Great Salt Lake. This will fill a longstanding gap in the region’s water management and enable better coordination between agencies and landowners.

NSDC’s 3,600 acres of managed wetlands—home to migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wildlife, are already benefiting. With improved water control, managers can now maintain ideal wetland conditions, reduce sediment buildup, and more effectively control invasive species like Phragmites.

This completed project not only restores function to a critical piece of infrastructure but also strengthens the broader ecological health and resiliency of the Great Salt Lake. 

Please visit the new DU Media Toolkit page for essential resources about Ducks Unlimited’s conservation mission.

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing wetlands, grasslands and other waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has restored or protected more than 19 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science, DU’s projects benefit waterfowl, wildlife and people in all 50 states. DU is growing its mission through a historic $3 billion Conservation For A Continent capital campaign. Learn more at www.ducks.org.
 
Media Contact:
Molly Jarone
(916) 903-9199
mjarone@ducks.org