We need to reduce water diversion from Great Salt Lake — now.

A Utah State University study shows “the lake would be 11 feet higher if not for water diversions by people,” wrote Standard-Examiner reporter Leia Larsen.

Sixty-three percent of the lake diversion is due to agricultural use. That has dropped the lake by 7 feet. A significant portion is used for alfalfa fields, to grow hay that’s exported to the Middle East and Asia.

• RELATED: Utah’s population growth questionable without Great Salt Lake, researcher says

There’s a way to reduce the amount of water we take from Great Salt Lake. “If we were to eliminate agricultural water use — for example by paying farmers more than they earn currently to sell their water to urban areas, so the farmers would not be hurt — we could increase non-agricultural water use by … 1.7 times,” without any new sources of water,” said Gabriel Lozada, an economics professor at the University of Utah.

We can hear the arguments against preserving Great Salt Lake at the expense of agriculture, which makes up 14 percent of Utah’s economy. No one’s suggesting an immediate end to current water usage, but we must begin diverting less water from the lake. If we don’t, there will be severe climate, health and economic consequences. 

Millions of birds use the lake as a part of their migratory patterns. Utahns and a million tourists a year take an interest in the birds and the lake. As the lake’s water level declines, so do visits by tourists.

If the lake gets drier and its bed is exposed, toxic dust will exacerbate Utah’s bad air. The dust also causes the snowpack to melt earlier, shortening the winter sports season.

• RELATED: If Utah’s Great Salt Lake dries up, consequences will be global

More economic consequences: Harvesting salts is a $1.1 billion industry in Utah, generating 2,000 jobs, many in Ogden. The Legislature appropriates $10.7 million in profits to the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. The brine shrimp industry pays $8.1 million to hundreds of employees from October to January. As the lake drops, that money withers away.

We need to refill the Great Salt Lake, and soon. If we don’t, we’ll pay for it — in many ways.