Utah State Water Plan - West Desert Basin
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Division of Water Resources April 2001 Utah State Water Plan - West Desert Basin Section 1 Foreword 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Demographics and Economic Future 5 Water Supply and Use 6 Management 7 Regulation/Institutional Considerations 8 Water Funding Programs 9 Water Planning and Development 10 Agricultural Water 11 Drinking Water 12 Water Quality 13 Disaster and Emergency Response 14 Fisheries and Water-Related Wildlife 15 Water-Related Recreation 16 Federal Water Planning and Development 17 Water Conservation 18 Industrial Water 19 Groundwater A Acronyms, Abbreviations and Definitions B Bibliography Utah State Water Plan West Desert Basin Utah Board of Water Resources 1594 West North Temple, Suite 310 PO Box 146201 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6201 May 2001 Utah Division of Water Resources Utah Department of Natural Resources Section 1 West Desert Basin Utah State Water Plan Foreword Utah's State Water Plan, prepared and 1.1 ACKNOWLEDGMENT distributed in 1990, provides the foundation and The Board of Water Resources gratefully overall direction for state water management acknowledges the dedicated efforts of the State and policies. It established policies and Water Plan Coordinating Committee and guidelines for statewide water planning, Steering Committee in preparing the West conservation and development. As a part of the Desert Basin Plan. Work was led by the state water planning process, more detailed planning staff of the Division of Water plans are prepared for each of the hydrologic Resources, with valuable assistance from basins within the state. The West Desert Basin individual coordinating committee members Plan is the eleventh and final of such reports. representing state agencies with water-related This plan covers all aspects of Utah’s water missions. Their standards of professionalism resources in the West Desert Basin which and dedication to improving Utah’s natural includes western Box Elder County, Tooele resources base are essential ingredients of this County and the western portions of Juab, basin plan. Millard, Beaver, and Iron counties. It identifies We also appreciate input from representatives alternative ways to solve problems and meet of local, state and federal cooperating entities demands. Final decisions on selecting and especially the local West Desert Basin Plan alternatives for implementation will be made by planning advisory group. Individuals from these local decision-makers. entities provided a broad spectrum of expertise The West Desert Basin Plan provides from a wide variety of interests. valuable water-related public information, In addition, we extend a sincere thanks to the encourages community and economic growth, people who attended meetings throughout the provides opportunity for local, state and federal basin and provided oral and written comments to cooperation, identifies water supplies and needs, the West Desert Basin Plan. Public input is and promotes local involvement in water imperative in the water planning process if a planning. Planning requires the active successful state water plan is to be obtained. participation of people who have a stake in how In endorsing this plan, as with previous basin the plan is carried out. If the voices of local and plans, we reserve the right to consider individual regional public entities and individuals are heard water projects on their own merits. This basin in the early stages, there will be broader support plan is an important guide for water development for actions recommended in the plan. in the West Desert Basin. 1-1 1-2 Contents 2.1 Foreword 2-1 2.3 Introduction 2-1 2.4 Demographics and Economic Future 2-2 2.5 Water Supply and Use 2-2 2.6 Management 2-3 2.7 Regulation/Institutional Considerations 2-4 2.8 Water Funding Programs 2-5 2.9 Water Planning and Development 2-5 2.10 Agricultural 2-7 2.11 Drinking Water 2-7 2.12 Water Quality 2-8 2.13 Disaster and Emergency Response 2-8 2.14 Fisheries and Water-Related Wildlife 2-9 2.15 Water-Related Recreation 2-10 2.16 Federal Planning and Development 2-11 2.17 Water Conservation 2-11 2.18 Industrial Water 2-12 2.19 Groundwater 2-12 Section 2 West Desert Basin Utah State Water Plan Executive Summary 2.1 FOREWORD Basin, the The State Water Plan provides a foundation Sevier River This section summarizes for state water policy. This helps the state meet Basin and to the 19 sections of the its obligation to plan and implement programs to the south by West Desert Basin Plan. best serve the needs of the people. This is the the The plan contains 19 last of the detailed basin plans associated with Cedar/Beaver sections and is modeled the State Water Plan. Plans have already been Basin. after the State Water completed for the other 10 basins of the state: Included in Plan (1990). In Bear River, Cedar/Beaver, Kanab Creek/Virgin this report is addition, it contains River, Weber River, Jordan River, Utah Lake, the Columbia Section A; Acronyms, Sevier River, Uintah, West Colorado, and River Basin, Southeast Colorado hydrologic basins. These 393 square Abbreviations and plans have all been prepared under the direction miles in the Definitions, and Section of the Board of Water Resources. extreme B; Bibliography. northwest 2.3 INTRODUCTION corner of the The main purpose of this basin plan is to state which inventory existing resources, assess existing drains via Goose Creek north and into the Snake conditions, identify problems and issues and River. describe potential development alternatives for The West Desert Basin, including the Great meeting the water needs of future generations. Salt Lake, comprises roughly 11.7 million acres, The State Water Plan and individual river basin or approximately 22 percent of the state’s total plans can provide guidance and help coordinate area. By contrast, it is home to just over 38,500 the planning efforts among all state, federal and residents or about 1.8 percent of the state’s total local entities. The West Desert Basin Plan is population. Approximately 88 percent of the prepared at a reconnaissance level, with a basin’s population, or roughly 33,860 people, general assessment of problems and needs. The reside on 7 percent of the basin’s land, in Tooele preparation of this plan has involved many local, and Rush valleys. The remaining nearly 4,660 state and federal entities who have expertise residents of the basin reside on the remaining 93 regarding water resources. percent of the basin’s land at a population The West Desert Basin is located in the density of approximately one resident per 6 northwest corner of the state and extends along square miles. the Nevada state line, into the southern portion The West Desert Basin consists primarily of of the state (Figure 3-1). It is bounded to the broad arid valleys separated and bounded by a east by the Bear River Basin, the Weber River series of mountainous regions. These mountains Basin, the Jordan River Basin, the Utah Lake serve as catchment areas for precipitation in the 2-1 form of snow in the winter and rain at other estimated current population of just over 20,000 times of the year, providing the desert valleys people, is the largest city in the basin and with intermittent and ephemeral streams. Grantsville is the second most populous with Although many streams flow perennially in the nearly 6,000. mountain canyons, only a few, such as Blue Much of the terrain throughout the basin is Creek in Box Elder County, flow year round either too rugged, too dry or too saline to attract once they reach the desert valleys. Several large numbers of settlers or entrepreneurs. agricultural communities have developed and Aside from the Tooele Valley, which, since the even flourished in the desert valley environments last decade has experienced significant growth, through prudent use of the limited groundwater it is unlikely the basin will see large population and surface water supplies. increases in the foreseeable future. In 1996, just The salinity of the Great Salt Lake has under 32,000 people were permanent residents rendered it of little value for municipal, in the basin. This is expected to increase to agricultural, or most other uses. Mineral 38,500 by 2000, and to about 68,200 by 2020. extraction industries around the Great Salt Lake, This is an increase of almost 36,500 people or however, provide hundreds of jobs and represent roughly 115 percent. The annual rate of millions of dollars to the Utah economy. The population growth is approximately 2.8 percent. brine shrimp industry also provides significant The basin’s employment base is centered in jobs and considerable economic benefits to the Tooele Valley and in the salt, mineral and brine state. In addition to these economic values, the related industries located near the Great Salt Great Salt Lake is a unique environmental Lake. Agriculture in Tooele County is expected habitat, visited by millions of migratory birds to lose jobs gradually, while mining jobs will annually, and home to many thousands of birds increase slowly. Construction, manufacturing, and other wildlife living in the approximately TCPU (transportation - communication and 250,000 acres (including wetlands in the Jordan public utilities) and government jobs will all and Weber river basins) of wetlands presently increase between 30 percent and 60 percent by existing around the lake. Despite its size the the year 2020. High growth sectors for the Great Salt Lake is sensitive to pollution. The same period are trade (78 percent), FIRE primary issues currently affecting the Great Salt (finance, insurance and real estate ) (73 Lake are: percent), services (106 percent), and non-farm C The impact upon wetlands and bird proprietors (91 percent).