Ground Water
Management Plan
Beryl – Enterprise Area
Public Meeting
Enterprise, Utah
March 13, 2007
Proposed Agenda
• Ground-Water Management Law
• Ground Water Hydrology
• Economic Considerations
• What’s Next
• Questions
Legislative Water Task Force
• HB 247
General Session – 2004
Created the Water Issues Task Force
• Membership -5 Senators & 8 Representatives
• Issues Addressed
Ground-water management (2005)
Water rights enforcement (2004)
Conservation & reuse (2005)
Instream flows (2006)
• Water Community / Task Force
HB 228 – Groundwater
Management Plan Bill
• Recommended by Water Issues Task Force
• Passed the Legislature - 2006 General Session
• Amended 73-5-1, Appointment water comm
• Enacted 73-5-15, GW Mgt Plan
* GROUND-WATER
* MANAGEMENT PLANS
* Bountiful Sub-area
* * * Cedar Valley (Utah Co.)
* Cache Valley
* * Northern Juab Valley
* Pahvant Valley
Salt Lake Valley
* Synderville Basin
Tooele Valley
Upper Provo River
Utah Goshen Valleys
Weber-Delta Sub-area
Section 73-5-15
Ground-Water Management Plan
Definitions
(1) As used in this section:
(b)(a) "Critical management area" of
"Safe yield" means the amount
means a groundwater basin in which
groundwater that can be withdrawn from
the groundwater withdrawals
a groundwater basin over a period of time
consistently exceed the safe yield.
without exceeding the long-term recharge
of the basin or unreasonably affecting the
basin's physical and chemical integrity.
(2) (a) The state engineer may regulate
groundwater withdrawals within a
specific groundwater basin by adopting
a groundwater management plan ….
(b) The objectives of a groundwater
management plan are to:
(i) limit groundwater withdrawals
to safe yield;
(ii) protect the physical integrity
of the aquifer; and
(iii) protect water quality.
(3) (a) In developing a groundwater management
plan, the state engineer may consider:
• (i) the hydrology of the groundwater basin;
• (ii) the physical characteristics ….;
• (iii) the relationship between surface water and
groundwater, ….;
• (iv) the geographic spacing and location of
groundwater withdrawals;
• (v) water quality;
• (vi) local well interference; and
• (vii) other relevant factors.
• 3 (b) The state engineer shall base
the provisions of a groundwater
management plan on the
principles of prior appropriation.
4 (b) When adopting a groundwater
management plan for a critical
management area, the state engineer
shall, based on economic and other
impacts to an individual water user or a
local community caused by the
implementation of safe yield limits on
withdrawals, allow gradual
implementation of the groundwater
management plan.
Other provisions:
• Voluntary arrangement by water users
• Public notice and involvement
• Effective date plan
• Notice of the final plan
• Amending a plan
• Filing an appeal
• Exempt from rulemaking
• Existing plans recognized
Beryl – Enterprise
Hydrologic Studies
• Hydrology Of The Beryl-Enterprise Area,
Escalante Desert, … - Mower (1982)
• Ground-water conditions in Utah - Burden
(2005)
• USGS National Information System Water
Level Web Interface
• Consumptive Use of Irrigated Crops in Utah
– Hill (1994)
• Acreage Surveys – Utah Division of Water
Rights
… (32 additional reports)
Water Balance
• Recharge
– Precipitation
– Runoff
– Return flow from
irrigation
• Discharge
–Evapotranspiration
–Underflow
–Wells
Groundwater Data
• Available Data
• Ground water level data
• Recharge estimates
• Evapotranspiration estimates
• Basin wide Well pumping estimates
• Crop Acreages
• Data Gaps
• Surface water diversion
• Well pumping records per water right
Groundwater Development
• Irrigation wells began being developed as early as 1919
• 1937 an estimated 3,000 acft of water was being pumped for irrigatio
• 1945 withdrawals increase sharply now reaching an average annual
discharge rate of 85,000 acft
Water Right Applications
Irrigated Acreage
Water Budget
Recharge – 34,000 acft
Discharge by Natural Sources – 7,000 acft
Total Irrigated Acreage – 28,000 acres
Surface Supplied Acreage – ? acres
Groundwater Supplied Acreage – ? acres
Change in Storage Calculation – 30,500 acft
Water Right Records
• Review and update electronic records
– Sole supply
– Place of use groups
• Finalize outstanding proofs
Activities …..
• Contract with Utah Water Lab
Dr. Steven Vickner, Professor at USU
Assist with economic analyses
• Hydrologic data
• Water right records
What’s Next ???
• Allow 30 -45 days for comments
Economic impacts
Other impacts
Gradual implementation
• Future meeting(s)
Safe yield
Water rights
Economic considerations
Other issues
• Send Comments To:
Utah Division of Water Rights
PO Box 146300
Salt Lake City UT 84114-6300
• Web Site:
http://www.waterrights.utah.gov/
Future meetings
Comments
Data and information
Reports