Abstract

Ground water is an important source of water in the Great Basin part of the Basin and Range province of Utah. About 85 percent of the water withdrawn from wells in Utah is withdrawn from this area. Most ground water has been developed from aquifers in basin-fill deposits, although substantial quantities of water also occur locally in carbonate rocks. An estimated 70 million acre-feet of water is stored in the uppermost 100 feet of saturated basin fill.

Water levels have declined in the East Shore area and Salt Lake Valley in northern Utah because of withdrawal of water for municipal and industrial uses. In central and southwestern Utah, water levels in several basins declined between about 1950 and 1968 because of pumping for irrigation, but have partly or fully recovered since the middle 1960’s as a result of increased precipitation and recharge, and decreased withdrawals. In the Beryl-Enterprise area, water levels have declined steadily since 1945 because of withdrawals for irrigation.

Three regional ground-water flow systems occur in western Utah—the Great Salt Lake, Great Salt Lake Desert, and Sevier Lake systems. These flow systems include recharge from the mountains and plateaus at the eastern edge of and within the Basin and Range province; the movement and discharge of water is along paths to three lowest discharge, or sink areas—Great Salt Lake, Great Salt Lake Desert, and Sevier Desert-Sevier Lake area. Ground water in the major areas of withdrawal generally is of suitable quality for public supply in terms of dissolved solids and nitrogen. However, quality of ground water has been degraded locally because of the effects of urbanization, industrial activities, and irrigation. More information is needed on the small-scale features of flow systems, especially to help study ground-water contamination.