Water now spilling over emergency causeway berm in the Great Salt Lake
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2023
- It's a sight that has railroad workers and state water officials smiling.
Water is spilling over an emergency berm in Union Pacific Railroad's causeway across the Great Salt Lake. What that means is lake levels have risen to the point where water is again reaching the north arm of the lake.
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That rail line was the first to cross the United States in the mid 1800s. It was a major achievement and spurred economic growth for the young nation, and it is still very important to our financial well being. The original route of the railroad went around the north end of the lake and was about 140 miles longer than it is since they put track across the lake. In addition to being much longer, the old route also had to climb over some mountains, and it had many bends in it. In other words, it had all the features of a railroad line that made it expensive to run trains on. The causeway is made of stone rubble as you can see from the video. The two ends of stone causeway were built around 1900 when the railroad first put their line across the lake. At that time, they wanted to build a causeway across that entire part of the lake but the bottom in the middle section is so soft that the rock they poured in disappeared. They ended up installing a wooden bridge across the center section that was about 12 miles long. I say it was a bridge, but the technical term is 'trestle' since the posts on a trestle are close together. They had to drive wooden posts very deep into the soft ooze on the bottom before they could hold the weight needed. The trestle worked, but it was just barely stable enough. They had to slow the trains way down as they went across it, and it was also very expensive to maintain. The trestle was made of wood because steel, and even steel reinforced concrete corrodes pretty quickly in the salt water. The need to avoid using steel as much as possible in critical jobs significantly reduced the options of materials that can be used on the project. Half a century later, they decided to go all out and use rock in the middle section as well. It took an enormous amount of rock because they had to spread it very widely across the bottom and gradually taper it up to the centerline where the train tracks were to be. If you saw a cross section of the causeway, you'd see that it is far, far, wider at the bottom than at the top. It has to spread out that far so the rock doesn't sink right into the soft ooze. But even having the rock spread out wide does not completely stop the pile from slowly sinking into the ooze. As an aside, they got much of the rock from a mountain that they tunneled into and blew up. That's an interesting story on its own.
They originally put two concrete tubes, culverts, in the rock to allow water from the sides to equalize level. The problem is that since the causeway is constantly sinking into the soft bottom, they are always adding more rock to the top to keep the tracks above water. The two tubes eventually ended up below water level and they got covered in new rock which plugged them up.
The bridge that's shown in the video is next to the western shore of the lake and the subsidence there is not the problem that it is in the center section. It sounds like the state of Utah is getting the railroad to add, or remove, some of the rock from under that bridge to allow, or block, the flow of water from one side to the other.
The ecological problem with the uneven water levels and uneven salinity is caused by the fact that the railroad decided to install a causeway across that section of lake rather than a trestle, or a bridge. But the extremely soft material on the bottom of the lake, in addition to the high salt levels in the water, makes it very difficult to build a bridge on. Railroads are critical to the economy of every country, and that line there is one of only a handful of lines that tie the eastern and western parts of the country together.
i wonder, with all the trouble installing the causeway and the trestle before that, whether they would have been better off keeping the route that went around in the first place.
The bridge that opened 7 years ago was built to act as a replacement for the tubes. This is what you see in the video. It's 180 feet long. Before the berm was raised, the water level on both sides were only about a foot apart, primarily because the north side has no natural springs in it. This is also why the north arm has higher salinity. They raised the berm to keep water from flowing from south to north because they were gaining acres of shoreline due to declining lake levels. Without the causeway for the railroad, the southern end of the lake would have shrunk by about 25% during the latest drought. The average depth is only 16 feet, so the 4 foot rise (or drop) can change the acreage of the lake drastically.
@@GhostScout42 Railroads will (usually) pick the flatter routing, even if it's longer, because of the economic advantage it has. Mountain railroading is quite difficult and requires a lot more personnel and capital to run, so that's why.
Yes but Diesel Locomotion is the same fuel type since the 1920's. Need to switch to all electric locomotion is the smart choice.
Get a job
Nicest railroad man I've seen.
Feel the berm!
Dad joke 101 🤦♂️
but.... here's how the berm can still win!
I am once again, asking for your ecological support.
Okay Bermie
So many people complained about the drought and scream the sky is falling. Now they scream about end of the drought and scream the sky is falling.
Might want to put up a better title. You make it sound like a issue not a benefit.
They need an "Alarming Title" to get clicks
That's the media's goal... to put fear in us, so that way we watch and watch and watch and so on and so on...
@RON BURGANDY Also known as "clickbait".
its fox news, what did you expect lol
Yeah I was disappointed. I was hoping for bad news…. 😏
I'm glad to see ppl happy about water again.
Wait until they're fighting over it with bloodshed.
Some of the commenters on this video show about as much comprehension as the people i bet they vote for.
Hahaha! Right?
Yup
Well said
Oh, I love this. When I was a kid growing up, we lived in Tooele, and we could see Antelope Island from our back porch. I remember going to sleep at night and waking up to 3 feet of snow the next morning. That lake provided so many opportunities for this state, it is an important ecological piece of Utah's history.
For those who concerned with the erosion of the berm it clearly looks like it was excavated in it was moved not eroded it would not be that much material still present if it was naturally eroded away
Hopefully the Great Salt Lake will recover!
@JZ's BFF We're in a solar maximum at the moment, hasn't even peaked yet. There's a reason our Ancients were obsessed with the Sun. Stay safe.
@@jzsbff4801in geologic terms nothing we’ve seen in the last 300 years is “extreme” we’ve lived in an extremely gentle period.
@@jzsbff4801 No, but avoiding hyperbole and histrionics will comfort you, and help you to see more clearly.
Yeah...
@@indee105 you sure about that? Pretty sure we're at the beginning (3 years of a 30 year cycle) of a grand solar MINIMUM. Meaning less sun spots, less solar flares and a cooling effect. In addition, the poles are shifting, and nobody seems to be talking about that.
Maybe it will smell less on the south side.
I remember back in the early 80s, they thought the valley would be underwater if the run off didn’t stop. State street was a river, and I 80 was breached.
Yep nature cycles . Always has always will. We need to adapt with it and not constantly cry " it's the end of the world as we know it"
@@noodengr3three825 Exactly! We are in a Solar maximum at the moment and we haven't even peaked. Crazy weather is expected.
I REMEMBER WHEN THEY SANDBAGGED A CHANNEL THROUGH SALT LAKE CITY SO THE WATER WOULDN'T HO WHEREVER IT WANTED. SUCH INDUSTRIOUS VOLUNTEERS. IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT?
I filled sandbags for the State street river. (I didn't fill all of them. I had some help.)
@@ddegn What a community effort that was. Thanks for helping!
Did not explain any of that very well.
I hate it when they talk about natural disasters as man made and need to be fixed. You can't fight mother nature.
Bingo
Why were they allowed to build it in a way tha cut the lake in half like that in the first place?
Uhm it was the 1800's So yeah. prolly they didn't know that we could actually hurt a planet that they thought was fully owned and operated by a pretend spirit in the sky.
Railroads > natural lakes. Who wants to see a lake, when you can see a train, instead?
Railroads own at least 50ft of land on either side of the tracks. So it makes sense they did this at no expense to taxpayers.
the ecological damage done to the lake is not worth owning some berm across the lake, let the railroad go around a few mile the other way.
This would have never happened, if there wasn’t a railroad line straight through the lake blocking it… (To the nay sayers below, this lake survived thousands of years, you cut it in half and restrict the flow from the river… then you have the nerve to blame nature and a drought for it dying…)
This country has a train problem
there are similar problems with roads all over south-east America.
"This would have never happened, if there wasn’t a railroad line straight through the lake blocking it"
Of course. The number of things that would happen differently if things were different is infinite.
@@johnperic6860 Don't deflect with actual facts!!!
The railroad line has absolutely nothing to do with the lack of rain, bro. 😄
Thank you Union Pacific!
Yes, if they hadn't built the berm in the first place the lake wouldn't be facing this ecological disaster. No one bothered to mention that's why they did the work for free - it's an attempt at avoiding penalties
Didn't cost taxpayers money? Wow, that is almost unheard of. Kudos, well done
Liars
Trust me - they're getting our money anyhow
They're happy to help "do it for free" because they literally caused this in this first place and may soon in the future be on the hook for a very expensive permeant repair to the problem. The ecological damage they've done to the lake has cost us billions at this point probably. This is the same thing has lighting someone's house on fire than giving them a new mailbox "for free".
Gotta admit… I didn’t realize the lake was different colors. I’ve only seen it in photos and on Google Earth. I thought the difference in color was simply due to the photos being taken at different times and the line between the colors was the ‘seam’… laughing while I type/admit this. I’m an idiot sometimes.
I learned something to about the colors
that was not a accident lol
I’ve know about that since I was a little kid, I’m graduating high school this year.
That would be a weird coincidence for the seam to be taken where the lake splits
Lol. We all are idiots.
Weather cycles? No kidding!
Very nice of Union Pacific Railroad to help! 👍
I'm guessing that they made the problem in the first place
It's the least they could do after dividing the lake and exercising environmental issues.
They're happy to help "do it for free" because they literally caused this in this first place and may soon in the future be on the hook for a very expensive permeant repair to the problem.
It 2:21 is refreshing to see so many people noticing & commenting on the misleading headline. This is a psychological manipulation technique used for generations by all media organizations.
Great news, I hope Utahns see that while this wet season has bought us valuable time to save the salt lake, there is still a lot to do to ensure its survival in the future. This is not the time to grow complacent, we have to take advantage of this extra time to avoid the ecological catastrophe.
The next few years are going to be HOT
Like the hottest ever
El Niño coming back around to make the rise more drastic
Heavy dose of chemtrails should fix that
@@MauveTrees This last few weeks in California has been hitting 90’s degrees which is unusual for this time of year compared to last year which as still chilly.
I’m from Southern Utah and we really don’t care about the Great Salt Lake.
That's my worry too with the Southwest. Those in charge have been complacent far too long. This all needs to continue being addressed immediately rather than wait for the next borderline dire situation to arise.
Why even divert water into the Great Salt Lake when nothing lives in it, not even microorganisms, or algie.
Thank you U.P.
Thanks for this coverage
Let the water flow wherever it wants to go! We truly need to stop trying to control everything.
Do you like the water that comes from your tap? Guess how we get that? Trying to control everything. People take way too much for granted nowadays.
👍👍👍👍👍
@@TySoVm 🙄
@@guineapiglady2841 he's right
6 months ago it was doom and gloom...now it's running over.
The lake is still very low, it's just flowing over a temporary berm, not the actual causeway
Major props to Union Pacific.
Lol yeah they just did it to help 🤣
Why is the lake cut in half in the first place?
help me understand better. I am not in the area. which side are they adding water to. North or South?
From South to North
@@nickhammer1356 thank you.
2 weeks ago there were alarmist articles the lake would dry up !?
How bout we stop diverting the water flows to the salt lake so we all don't die when it dries up?
"How bout we stop diverting the water flows to the salt lake"
There is no WE.
You are free to stop doing whatever you are doing. Stop drinking water, stop flushing toilets, stop growing food. Let the precious salty lake do its thing, which isn't very much.
Yours is the first comment to recognize that the root problem is diversion for agriculture and fresh water consumption fora quickly growing population.
@@thomasmaughan4798 are you an idiot? Cutting the river in half and restricting its flow is literally going to ruin us if we get a drought that's terrible. You are a fool. Why dont you respond to the argument of the restricted water flood and dam? I see you in these comments avoiding it becase you know its bad for us. IDIOT. I cant believe peope as low IQ as you are allowed to vote.
Is it possible for the grand canyon to get filled with water?
No
The Great Salt Lake has no exit which is why water comes in but doesn't go out, except by evaporation. The Grand Canyon was formed by the freshwater Colorado River which goes down to Mexico and Arizona and very little, if any, of it actually reaches the ocean
@@ArtStoneUS Thank you
UP if you are really worried about the lake. remove the whole track through the lake.
Great news!
Something positive from railroads is refreshing these days.
Thank goodness Mother Nature saves us even when we don’t appreciate her
Hippy
I’ve kinda lost track, is this global cooling? Global warming? Cover all bases climate change? Or just the same nature that’s been happening for millions of years?
@@ml-jt6eg psychopath.
@@murrijuana2842 Sociopath.
Did a representative for a railroad company just say that they are worried about the environment……
I don't know who to thank most! All I know is that I'm proud we did it! we got a lot of rain and that helped tremendously.
depends on what you mean by recover
May want line the berm with heavy landscape fabric , believe the berm is not designed to handle a massive flow rate of 4 5 feet of water going through it. At that rate of flow, it will start eroding the rock.
now raise the berm to keep what water you can gather , you can always release it later
They need to reduce salt levels with the fresh water
The only place for the water to go is evaporation. The Great salt Lake has no exit. That is why it is a salt Lake
FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!!!! 😎
Wow! A happy and positive stort
Sensationalizing the news… Goodness. Tells you all you need to know.
Bro what 😂🤦♂️
Is Lake Mead likely to benefit from the snowfall ? i.e.inflows raising the level .
yes
Not with Commiefornia next door.
1:14 how generous of them 🙄.
Contruction of the railline is the root cause. And im sure the rail company used public government funds to build it.
Last year scared Mother Nature works
For every causaway there is an affectaway....
Stop messing with it, let nature do it's thing.
If nature just did its thing, you'd likely be dead already.
People helping people because *IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO*
Well, the railroad built the causeway and the berms (and the tubes and the bridges.) If there is a "ecological disaster" the RR will be blamed.
@@GilmerJohn People seem to forget that railroads are, in fact, businesses. And that businesses do not have the same obligations as environmental or park service agencies do.
@@bakerboat4572 -- Well, in a rational world governments establish reasonable rules to help "guide" society toward common goals such as "environmental concerns." These rules, in theory, are for everyone to include private businesses and government entities. The railroads have been quite regulated in the past and today they have relative freedom. Cooperating with the "environmentalists" and even being generous with theirr help with things that require heavy equipment is a relatively cheap way of keeping governments out of their business.
Great Salt Lake has been shrinking for 18,000 years. The cities of the Wasatch Front are built on lake bottom three hundred feet below the old shore line. Nature sets the program. Humans only watch the play.
It's sad that science and the media are refusing to acknowledge the 22-year El Nino-La Nina cycle that caused the recent drought and then also caused the recent relief of drought. It's like an Idiocracy, where things are known ... yet people flail about in ignorance of what is known.
I thought the Great salt lake was dried up never to be seen again.b.s.
1:39 interesting color pallet
Communication make no confrontation confrontation come from with no communication, 😅.
We should be aware that salt lakes form through evaporation: too much evaporation and the lake is dry. It is a natural process that has been demonstrated throughout geologic time.
The Salton lake in southern California is another great example and the Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union
so refreshing to watch a news article on weather that doesn't mention climate change.
HEY BEAUTIFUL LOVE THE DRESS....
What a gift!
The railroad berm is what caused the problems with the lake in the first place.
When installed back then the lake experienced problems immediately
The railroads didn't cause the drought...
@@davewallace8219 yes your correct….Mother Nature causes drought….the railroad berm……specifically cut the great salt lake in 3 parts.
Creating 3 different kinds of eco systems based upon salinity of the water. When the railroad was a trestle system the lake was a common one eco system. Check the historical facts and reporting of the newspapers after the berm was built.
@@paulthesoundguy1 it's called the...lucin cuttoff. .it has saved untold amounts of fuel ...it was built...and maintained by the union pacific...that inland sea...has been drying up for ages...it is totally dependent on sno pack...and rainfall....it overall salinity has been increasing for ages... in the whole out come...man's impact. Is minimal
Let me clarify….the solid berm has stopped the correct and natural flow of water a cross the entirety of the lake. Exclusive of the rain fall or snow pack or any other water source…..the berm is like a dam and impedes the natural ebb and flow of the waters.
All historical evidence both written and video has documented this down fall of the lake…all scientists..liberal or conservative have concluded the same thing. Even Wikipedia has a statement to this effect on the lake….and opinions are usually discouraged or removed…so the fact stands.
@@davewallace8219 FOOL. WE HAVE PREVENTED WATER FROM FLOWING INTO IT AND CUT IT INTO 3 DIFFERENT PARTS? YOU CALL THAT MINIMAL? FOOLISH LITTLE BOY.
I don't get it. If water spilling over the berm is so great, why'd they raise it in the first place?
anything that awakens nature is great!!
What a blessing. I pray the worst of the 2-decade drought may be over, but I sincerely doubt it.
The weather has been completely fake for almost 40 years.
Union Pacific RR, way to go!!
Keep rising
@JZ's BFF Flood the empty lake
No idea whats going on but everyone sure is excited
It's hard not to be excited when salt water and trains get together!
Ain't even close to Saltair records, but it's a start.
Yay!
Well you better make sure that there is no train derailment, I make a train inspection before each train goes through
One solution is to let the waters that fill the lake . Is to lower those metal gate dams in them . The Jordan use to move faster then it is now, even the creeks that flow in to the Jordan river are backed up with water . One by where I use to work that one is 3ft deep and moving very slow . I'd say just drop those metal gate dams about 4 inches so the water is not hardly moving
Yeah since 1970 I would like to talk to someone about it’s about flooding and drought we shouldn’t have either in the Divide states of America
Oh goody, a railroad line.......
Stories of failing berms, dams and levees usually end in one way* so I'm a bit impressed here!
* As the water level reaches the top of a soil embankment, it spills over and starts to erode the embankment material lowering the height. The more it spills, the more erosion, etc.
You better save that your going to need it , the way the waste on swimming pools
Thanks to Union Pacific for paying for this🙏 in Canada r railroad companies are super mean and hard to deal with😢
I guess you haven't been following the railroad news in the USA lately :(
The climate has never stopped changing. There are sea shells all over the desert 🏜 in Arizona.
We all know that but thanks ;)
Is this in the United States???
Yes, in Utah. The Great Salt Lake has a surface area of approximately 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers). It normally contains about 5 trillion gallons of salt water
I wonder what tax breaks the train company got. They didn’t do it for free.
Nice to see a railroad that is NOT creating environmental disasters like we saw in East Palestine, Ohio.
When I clicked on this video I thought it was going to be a bad thing.
Great news
What about the water permissions granted by the Church to be dumped? How does this play into that?
Great
Yay! 🎉
Oh man..... No more doom n gloom. How will we ever survive.
what happened to the big pumps
put in after the 80s flooding?
While the train company did it for free basically because they're using it themselves and benefited in fixing it.I'm surprised they're not having trained crashes and pouring chemicals into it
Funny, that in the VERY recent past, they were crying about it drying up, in full on "the sky is falling" mode.
Sell water to places that don't have it
Let it snow!
Wow what a beautiful news anchor
plot twist its a dude.
yep. that was a dude
lol the thought that we think we can control water and mother nature
Of course, if the railroad never built the berm in the first place...but no one seemed to want to mention that
Is the railroad on top of the berm for ease of maintenance or is it used by the railroad for regular rail traffic?
The berm was built by the railroad without any care to the consequences to the environment. It should be removed completely.
The railroad uses the causeway more frequently than it's southern counterpart adjacent to I-80
@@matthew3136 The Causeway isn't as much of a detriment to the environment as it seems to be. Modifications over the years have helped make it more environmentally friendly, and it's still quite a crucial route to the rail industry which overall helps with the environment better than road transport
It is the railroad grade or bed west from Ogden. It is used for regular rail traffic and is the main line.
@@matthew3136 "It should be removed completely."
Why?
Union cased it
Should be selling it to dry states
Feel the Berm