2015 Salt Lake County Integrated Watershed Plan Update to the 2009 Salt Lake Countywide Water Quality Stewardship Plan This page is intentionally blank. 2015 Salt Lake County Integrated Watershed Plan 2015 Salt Lake County Integrated Watershed Plan Update to the 2009 Salt Lake Countywide Water Quality Stewardship Plan Published September 2016 Prepared By: Salt Lake County Watershed Planning & Restoration 2001 South State Street, Suite N3-120 Salt Lake City, UT 84190 HDR Engineering, Inc. 2825 East Cottonwood Parkway, Suite 200 Salt Lake City, UT 84121 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Water quality and watershed issues are complex, multi-faceted, and at times contradictory. Establishing and maintaining effective stewardship requires cooperation between local municipal governments, stakeholder groups, and various management and regulatory agencies. It is only with continued cooperation that we will collectively improve water quality and watershed health in Salt Lake County. Our thanks go to the numerous individuals and organizations that supported and contributed to the development of this plan as critical thinkers, technical experts, and reviewers. In particular, we thank Mayor Ben McAdams and Salt Lake County Council for their continued support of environmental stewardship and integrated watershed planning. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams Administration, Flood Control Engineering, Township Services, Parks and Recreation, Salt Lake County Health Department Salt Lake County Council Jim Bradley, Arlyn Bradshaw, Max Burdick, Steve DeBry, Sam Granato, Michael Jensen, Richard Snelgrove, Jenny Wilson, Aimee Winder Newton Municipal Governments Town of Alta, Bluffdale City, Cottonwood Heights, Draper City, Herriman City, Holladay City, Midvale City, Murray City, Riverton City, Salt Lake City, Sandy City, South Jordan City, South Salt Lake City, Taylorsville City, West Jordan City, West Valley City State of Utah Utah Divisions of Drinking Water, Sovereign Lands, Water Quality, Water Rights, Water Resources, Wildlife Resources; Utah Department of Transportation Federal Government Natural Resource Conservation Service, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service Other Key Stakeholders and Advisory Groups Jordan River Watershed Council, Jordan River Commission, Local Non-Governmental Organizations, Publicly Owned Treatment Works, Stormwater Coalition, Utah Association of Conservation Districts, University of Utah, Utah Lake Commission, Wasatch Front Regional Council CONTENTS Contents Contents 1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 Area-Wide Water Quality Planning Authority ................................................................................................. 1 2009 Plan Background .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Plan Purpose ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Organization of This Document ......................................................................................................................... 3 2.0 Six-Year Evaluation ............................................................................................................... 5 2.1 High Priority Implementation Tasks from the 2009 Plan ............................................................................... 5 2.2 Summary of Accomplishments ........................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 Summary of Implementation Process .............................................................................................................. 13 3.0 Watershed Characterization .............................................................................................. 15 3.1 General Watershed Information ....................................................................................................................... 15 Watershed Area & Regional Context ........................................................................................................ 15 Streams and Rivers ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Watershed and Sub-watershed Boundaries ............................................................................................. 18 Regulatory Designations ............................................................................................................................. 21 Municipalities and Townships ................................................................................................................... 30 Other Jurisdictions and Land-Management Agencies ........................................................................... 32 3.2 Population and Land Use ................................................................................................................................... 33 Land Use ........................................................................................................................................................ 38 3.3 Social and Recreation Functions ....................................................................................................................... 45 3.4 Environmental Justice Populations and Water Quality ................................................................................. 50 3.5 Water Quality ....................................................................................................................................................... 57 2009 Plan Summary of Water Quality Conditions ................................................................................. 57 Introduction to Water Quality Data Collection Programs .................................................................... 57 Salt Lake County’s Sampling Program ....................................................................................................... 60 Jordan River Sampling by UDWQ ............................................................................................................ 77 Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 79 3.6 Habitat ................................................................................................................................................................... 80 2009 Plan and Stream Function Index ...................................................................................................... 80 Physical Habitat Data Collection and Analysis ....................................................................................... 80 Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 86 3.7 Climate Change.................................................................................................................................................... 86 2009 Plan Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 86 Local Climate Conditions Predicted by Global Climate Model Simulations ...................................... 87 Other Relevant Local and Regional Studies ............................................................................................. 94 Summary of Climate Model Scenarios ...................................................................................................... 96 Climate Effects on Watershed Functions ................................................................................................. 97 3.8 Water and Energy ................................................................................................................................................ 98 Contents i How We Use Energy for Water ................................................................................................................. 98 How We Use Water for Energy ................................................................................................................. 99 Opportunities ............................................................................................................................................. 102 3.9 References ........................................................................................................................................................... 104 General Watershed, Population, and Land Use References ................................................................ 104 Contents Contents Environmental Justice References ........................................................................................................... 104 Water Quality References ......................................................................................................................... 105 Habitat References ..................................................................................................................................... 105 Climate Change References .....................................................................................................................