Rush Valley

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Rush Valley Hydrologic Assessment

Project Number: 9716DDM
Project Chief: Philip Gardner, USGS Salt Lake City, Utah
Cooperator: Utah Geological Survey, Utah Division of Water Rights
Period of Project: April 2008 to September 2010

PROBLEM

Development of ground-water resources in Rush Valley has been proposed to supply water to the growing population centers in Tooele and Cedar Valleys. Tooele Valley to the north and Cedar Valley to the southeast of Rush Valley are experiencing rapid suburban growth as the Salt Lake metropolitan area expands. Both of these valleys are within the Great Basin and have limited water resources and are closed to new water appropriations. The three valleys are linked hydrologically with ground water flowing from higher elevation Rush Valley into both Tooele and Cedar Valleys.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the proposed study is to reassess the surface-water and ground-water hydrology of Rush Valley to develop a new conceptual model of the ground-water flow system in the valley. Specifically, the proposed study will update the water budgets, develop new potentiometric surface maps for the principal basin-fill aquifer, a new map of water quality in the basin-fill aquifer, and assess inter-basin flow from Rush Valley to adjacent valleys.

RELEVANCE AND BENEFITS

The proposed study will be part of the Utah Water Science Center's Cooperative Water Program with State and local water-resource agencies. A major objective of the Cooperative Water Program, as stated in the program's 5-year plan, is to improve strategies to identify and protect drinking-water sources. The proposed study will improve the understanding of the Rush Valley ground-water flow system and improve the ability of water managers to assess the long-term sustainability of current and future ground-water public supplies developed in Rush Valley and adjacent valleys.

APPROACH

The proposed study will reexamine the water budget, ground-water levels, and water quality to develop a new conceptual model and water budget for ground-water flow in the basin-fill aquifer in Rush Valley. The study will be conducted over 2 years (FY 2008-2010) with a year and a half of new data collection and data compilation. Mass water-level measurements and monthly measurements and water-quality samples will be used to develop new potentiometric surface maps and assess water-level and water-quality distribution and trends. New estimates of ground-water recharge and discharge components will be compiled. Water-quality samples will be analyzed for environmental tracers to determine ground-water ages and assess inter-basin flow between Rush Valley and Cedar and Tooele Valleys.

PRODUCTS

Results of the proposed study will be documented in a Utah Division of Water Rights Technical Publication Report. The report will contain a description of the new conceptual ground-water flow model of the area including updated descriptions of the aquifer system, water budget, potentiometric surfaces, flow paths and residence times, and water-quality distributions. All hydrologic and chemical data will be entered into the USGS National Water Information System databases.

CURRENT UPDATE

Work on the Rush Valley study began in the summer of 2008. Since that time, more than 200 well have been inventoried. In October of 2008, ground-water level measurements were made at more than 100 wells and are being used to construct the first of two potentiometric surface maps that will be yield a information about the directions of ground-water flow. Monthly ground-water levels that have been monitored in 12 wells since June of 2008 will be used to examine seasonal fluctuations in the aquifer in different parts of the valley. Historical records of ground-water levels and surface-water flows have been compiled and, spatially-distributed estimates of annual ground-water recharge for the water years 1940 – 2006 have been derived using a Basin Characterization Model. As monthly water level measurements continue to be made and work continues on synthesizing historical information, planning for the Spring 2009 valley-wide water-level measurement and spring/summer 2009 water-quality sampling efforts are underway.