Looking out over the Willard Spur at the northeast corner of the Great Salt Lake, a visitor can see the scenic wetlands and the birds that call them home, but there’s a lot that can’t be seen, too.

How is the runoff affecting the birds and their habitat? How does the treated effluent from the Perry-Willard sewer system affect the ecology? Is there a point when pollution would cause too much harm?

Scientists and policy makers hope to find answers to questions like these with the help of a three-year study that gets under way this spring.

Thanks to $1.4 million approved recently by the Utah Water Quality Board, the work is supported by people across the environmental spectrum for what it can tell about the effects of human activity on the biologically rich wetlands called the “Willard Spur,” a 25-square-mile area used primarily by migratory birds.

“This is really needed,” said Merritt Frey, who represents the environmental community on the board.

Fellow board member Leland Myers, general manager of the Central Davis Sewer District agreed it is “a great science project that needs to go forward.”

Impetus for the study came from the Utah Waterfowl Association, the Utah Air Boat Association and other conservation groups that challenged a decision by water regulators on the $30 million Perry-Willard wastewater treatment plant. The critics said regulators allowed the plant to begin operations before they understood how discharges from the plant would affect pollution in the bay.

In recent weeks, the Department of Water Quality has been working with stakeholders, including the conservation groups, to develop a discharge permit for the sewage treatment plant that addresses past concerns and future operations. The permit, which includes the pollution study, is expected to go out for public comment in a few weeks.

“This is a huge win for the lake,” said Rob Dubuc, an attorney for Western Resource Advocates. He represented the conservation groups and praised water-quality officials for drafting a discharge permit that is satisfactory to all the stakeholders.

The idea behind the Willard Spur study is to understand what happens to pollutants — especially fertilizers and treated sewage — when they enter the wetlands. While other waterways in the state are evaluated for contaminants, Great Salt Lake — which is not used for drinking water — is not. It has been only about a year that a small area of wetlands has been protected for a pollutant, selenium.

With the new study, water-quality issues would be explored by a science advisory panel and a steering committee that is expected to include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, which already has done a lot of research about water movement and water quality in the Great Salt Lake.

Walt Baker, state director for water quality, said he hopes the Willard Spur study will provide a format for looking at pollution conditions and standards in other parts of the lake.

“Our work on the Willard Spur,” he said, “our work to understand the mercury problem, our significant wetlands work, our selenium work, our ongoing monitoring efforts, the work of the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council and the efforts of the Department of Natural Resources to complete the next 10-year master plan for the lake — all comprise the building blocks to help us better understand the lake and to protect it.”