Ground Water in Utah's Densely Populated Wasatch Front Area the Challenge and the Choices
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Ground Water in Utah's Densely Populated Wasatch Front Area the Challenge and the Choices United States Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2232 Ground Water in Utah's Densely Populated Wasatch Front Area the Challenge and the Choices By DON PRICE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 2232 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DONALD PAUL MODEL, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON: 1985 For sale by the Branch of Distribution U.S. Geological Survey 604 South Pickett Street Alexandria, VA 22304 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Price, Don, 1929- Ground water in Utah's densely populated Wasatch Front area. (U.S. Geological Survey water-supply paper ; 2232) viii, 71 p. Bibliography: p. 70-71 Supt. of Docs. No.: I 19.13:2232 1. Water, Underground Utah. 2. Water, Underground Wasatch Range (Utah and Idaho) I. Title. II. Series. GB1025.U8P74 1985 553.7'9'097922 83-600281 PREFACE TIME WAS Time was when just the Red Man roamed this lonely land, Hunted its snowcapped mountains, its sun-baked desert sand; Time was when the White Man entered upon the scene, Tilled the fertile soil, turned the valleys green. Yes, he settled this lonely region, with the precious water he found In the sparkling mountain streams and hidden in the ground; He built his homes and cities; and temples toward the sun; But without the precious water, his work might not be done. .**- ste'iA CONTENTS Page Preface ..................................................... Ill Abstract ................................................... 1 Significance Ground water in perspective ................................ 1 The Wasatch Front area Utah's urban corridor ..................................... 2 Physiographic setting and drainage Where clear mountain streams meet desert valley floors .......... 4 Geologic setting The vanished inland sea and the ever-present escarpment ......... 10 The hydrologic system Variability of the water supply is reflected in the ever-changing level of Great Salt Lake ................................. 12 Precipitation and local runoff Importance of the mountain snowpack ........................ 14 Surface inflows and imports They also affect ground water .............................. 15 Ground water Where geology becomes an important controlling factor .......... 15 Water in consolidated rocks It is there, but not easy to find, or withdraw by wells ............ 15 Water in basin fill The principal ground-water reservoirs ........................ 22 Ground-water storage The time-limited ground-water supply ........................ 24 Ground-water recharge The perennial ground-water supply .......................... 26 Ground-water discharge Distribution of the perennial supply .......................... 35 Ground-water quality Most is fresh but some is saline ............................. 36 Relation of ground water and surface water To alter one is to alter the other ............................. 45 Ground-water withdrawals Wells in the principal ground-water reservoirs .................. 46 Problems associated with ground-water withdrawals Some of the hidden costs .................................. 56 Ground water and the future The challenge and the choices ............................... 60 Summary and conclusions ...................................... 70 Selected references ............................................ 70 FIGURES Page 1. Graph showing population growth in the Wasatch Front area, 1940-80 ............................................... 2 2. Map with photograph showing location of the Wasatch Front area. 2 3. Graph showing distribution of 1980 population in the Wasatch Front area by county .................................... 4 4. Satellite imagery of the central part of the Wasatch Front area. ..... 5 5. Map of the Wasatch Front area showing physiography and drainage ........................................... 6 Contents FIGURES Page 6. Map of the Wasatch Front area showing general geology and thermal-spring areas ..................................... 8 7. Map showing approximate areal extent of Lake Bonneville ....... 11 8. Photograph showing terraces (benches) formed along the shore of Lake Bonneville ...................................... 12 9. Diagram showing principal components of the hydrologic system in the Wasatch Front area ................................ 13 10. Graph with photograph showing fluctuations of the level of Great Salt Lake ........................................ 14 11. Map of the Wasatch Front area showing average annual precipitation ........................................... 17 12. Graphs with photograph showing annual precipitation near Brighton and at the Salt Lake City International Airport ........ 18 13. Graphs showing runoff characteristics of two Wasach Front streams ............................................... 19 14. Map of the Wasatch Front area showing principal runoff-producing areas ................................... 20 15. Block diagram showing general features of the ground-water system in the Wasatch Front area .......................... 23 16. Map showing locations of the principal ground-water reservoirs in the Wasatch Front area ................................ 24 17-21. Maps showing areas in which transmissivity of the principal ground-water reservoirs generally exceeds 10,000 feet squared per day: 17. Northern Juab Valley ............................. 26 18. Utah and Goshen Valleys .......................... 28 19. Salt Lake Valley ................................. 30 20. East Shore area ................................. 32 21. Bear River Bay area .............................. 34 22. Diagram showing annual rates of recharge to the principal ground- water reservoir in the Salt Lake Valley from various sources ...... 35 23-27. Maps showing potentiometric surface and approximate flowing-well areas: 23. Northern Juab Valley ............................. 36 24. Utah and Goshen Valleys .......................... 38 25. Salt Lake Valley ................................. 40 26. East Shore area ................................. 42 27. Bear River Bay area .............................. 44 28. Diagram showing annual rates of discharge from the ground-water reservoir in the Salt Lake Valley by various means ............. 45 29-33. Maps showing dissolved-solids concentrations of water in the principal ground-water reservoirs: 29. Northern Juab Valley ............................. 46 30. Utah and Goshen Valleys .......................... 48 31. Salt Lake Valley ................................. 50 32. East Shore area ................................. 52 33. Bear River Bay area .............................. 54 34. Diagrams showing relation between ground water and surface water .......................................... 55 35. Graph showing annual withdrawals from wells in the Salt Lake Valley, 1931-80 ................................. 56 36. Diagram showing withdrawal by wells from principal ground- water reservoirs, 1979 .................................... 57 VI Contents FIGURES Page 37. Diagram showing withdrawal by wells from the principal ground-water reservoirs for various uses, 1979 ................. 57 38. Diagrams showing use of water withdrawn by wells in the central Wasatch Front area, 1965 and 1979.................... 57 39. Graph showing change in the ground-water level in a well in the Salt Lake Valley ..................................... 58 40. Graph showing change in the ground-water level in a well in the Ogden area ......................................... 59 41-44. Maps showing changes in the potentiometric surface, spring 1965-Spring 1980: 41. Northern Juab Valley ............................. 60 42. Utah and Goshen Valleys .......................... 62 43. Salt Lake Valley ................................. 64 44. East Shore area ................................. 66 45. Diagram showing hydrologic effects of a discharging well ........ 68 46. Diagram illustrating the basic methods of artificial ground- water recharge ......................................... 70 Contents VII Ground Water in Utah's Densely Populated Wasatch Front Area The Challenge and the Choices By Don Price Abstract SIGNIFICANCE Utah's Wasatch Front area comprises about 4,000 square Ground Water in Perspective miles in the north-central part of the State. I n 1980, the area had a population of more than 1.1 million, or about 77 percent of Utah's total population. It contains several large During 1940-80 the Wasatch Front area of north- cities, including Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Provo, and is central Utah experienced tremendous growth in popu commonly called Utah's urban corridor. lation and related business and industrial development. Most of the water supply for the Wasatch Front area The population more than tripled. (See figure 1.) Many comes from streams that originate in the Wasatch Range of the fields that once produced sugar beets, alfalfa, and nearby Uinta Mountains; however, ground water has and other irrigated crops have become sites of new played an important role in the economic growth of the schools, shopping centers, and residential areas. Orchards area. The principal source of ground water is the unconsolidated and groves of native scrub oak on the terraces (benches) fill (sedimentary deposits) in the valleys of the Wasatch overlooking the Wasatch Front valleys have given Front area northern Juab, Utah, Goshen, and Salt Lake way to "view property" housing developments. Even at Valleys;