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Utah Ground Water Data Program

Project Chief: Cory Angeroth, USGS Salt Lake City, UT
Cooperators: Utah Department of Natural Resources, Department of Water Rights, and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District
Period of Project: October 2002-September 2010

Problem

Long term water level records are needed to evaluate the effects of climatic variations on the recharge to and discharge from the ground-water systems, to provide a data base from which to measure the effects of development, to assist in the prediction of future supplies, and to provide data for management of the resource.

Objectives

A. Collect water level data sufficient to provide a minimum long-term data base so that the general response of the hydrologic system to natural climatic variations and induced stresses is known and potential problems can be defined early enough to allow proper planning and management. B. Provide a data base against which the short-term records acquired in areal studies can be analyzed. This analysis must 1) provide an assessment of the ground-water resource, 2) allow prediction of future conditions, 3) detect and define pollution and supply problems, and 4) provide the data base necessary for management of the resource.

Relevance and Benefits

An important part of the USGS mission is to provide scientific information to manage the water resources of the Nation. To effectively assess the Nation's ground-water resources, the USGS monitors water levels in thousands of wells, determines aquifer characteristics in principal aquifers, and monitors the quality of water in wells and springs using standardized methods. These data are used in determining long-term trends in water levels by aquifer, sustainable yields by aquifer, climatic effects on water levels, and in development of flow and transport models that allow prediction of future conditions and detection and definition of contaminant and water-supply problems. The data are critical to local, state, and regional water managers for planning and managing of water-resources projects.

Approach

Evaluation of regional geology allows broad, general definition of aquifer systems and their boundary conditions. Within this framework and with some knowledge of the stress on the system in time and space and the hydrologic properties of the aquifers a subjective decision can be made on the most advantageous locations for observation of long-term system behavior. This subjective network can be refined as records become available and detailed areal studies of the ground-water system more closely define the aquifers, their properties, and the stresses to which they are subjected.

Products

NWIS real-time ground-water data: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ut/nwis/current/?type=gw