Watershed Symposium 2024

Summary:
Learn what steps has the state of Utah taken and plans to take for the long term health of the Great Salt Lake.

Full Abstract:
Commissioner Brian Steed and Deputy Commissioner Tim Davis will provide an update on the implementation of the Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan, current conditions of the lake, and the next steps for the long term health of the lake.

Summary:
This study aims to identify major phosphorus origins in Utah Lake’s watershed, quantify phosphorus influx from each source to Utah Lake, visualize HAB occurrences, and assess the correlation between phosphorus levels and HAB distribution.

Full Abstract:
This study aims to identify major phosphorus origins in Utah Lake’s watershed, quantify phosphorus influx from each source to Utah Lake, visualize HAB occurrences, and assess the correlation between phosphorus levels and HAB distribution. To accomplish this goal, our research team conducted in-situ water sampling and nutrient concentration measurements. We utilized geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing geospatial techniques to categorize key phosphorus sources to Utah Lake, employed empirical models to quantify nutrient runoff, and leveraged Google Earth Engine (GEE) and ArcGIS Pro to automate the processing of Landsat images for visualizing HAB distribution in Utah Lake. The identified key nutrient sources include urban lawns, golf courses, parks, herbaceous, deciduous forest, evergreen forest, mixed forest, hay/pasture, and cultivated crops. Their respective total areas ranged from 9.5 km² to 1,775.7 km², with golf courses being the smallest and deciduous forests being the largest. Notably, urban lawns and cultivated crops, covering 337 km² and 344.41 km2, emerged as two significant phosphorus sources to Utah Lake, despite constituting only 7.5% and 7.6% of the total Utah Lake Watershed area, respectively. Furthermore, our analysis revealed a close correlation between HAB distribution and phosphorus levels in the lake. Prior studies on Utah Lake have focused primarily on phosphorus loading from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and atmospheric deposition. While WWTPs are still the major phosphorus contributors to the occurrence of HABs, our findings suggest that land-derived non-point nutrient sources play a substantial role in triggering HABs in Utah Lake.

Summary:
Development of the Great Salt Lake Basin Plan is underway and the Utah Division of Water Resources is excited to update you on the progress of the first-ever basin-wide water management tool. Implementation of the tool will ensure a resilient water supply for Great Salt Lake and all water uses, including people and the environment, in the basin.

Full Abstract:
The Utah Division of Water Resources is excited to share an update on the first-ever Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan (GSLBIP). Since we presented at the 2023 Watershed Symposium, we’ve made significant progress, completing several key foundational tasks and paving the way for more impactful milestones ahead. These tasks will culminate in the creation of an important decision-making tool for improved water resource management. When the tools and research findings from the project are complete, decision makers will be equipped to make informed decisions about water planning in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Once implemented, the goal of the Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan is to ensure a resilient water supply for Great Salt Lake and all water uses — including people and the environment — throughout the watershed. As part of the 2024 GSLBIP update, the Division of Water Resources team will dive into how we’re actively bringing the recommendations in the GSLBIP Work Plan (completed in April 2024) to life. We will bring attendees up to speed on the planning and modeling approaches, discuss near-term milestones and begin exploring possible watershed management alternatives to be considered in the scenario-planning process. Alongside the development of an innovative water resource modeling tool, the GSLBIP is conducting important research that will shape and guide future water planning decisions. The Gap Analysis in the GSLBIP Work Plan identified over 150 potential projects that could enhance understanding of water flows in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Project partners honed in on eight key projects, and all are now officially underway, marking an exciting step forward in the plan’s progress. We will provide an update on those projects and explain how we envision them playing a pivotal role in future watershed planning.

Summary:
A native walk of the Bear River with the ancestors of the Bear River and the life ways it provided and must still provide.

Full Abstract:
The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation has lived in the Bear River Watershed for over 13,000 years. The Bear River was the most important resources to our ancestors. It gave life. It was abundant with game, wetlands, drinking water, fish, and was a trail system for our people, and it always flowed into the Great Salt Lake. We would like to discuss our Tribal History of the Bear River and how we used it historically, how we used the Great Salt Lake, and how the depletion of these resources would be catastrophic to every in the Wasatch Front. We want to discuss food we used, grounds we farmed, and all the native plants that existed and how losing them is causing us to lose the river and a depletion in the Great Salt Lake. It'll be a native walking experience of the Bear River.

The poster session is a forum for presenters from around the world to highlight programs and to share successful ideas with colleagues by presenting a research study, a practical problem-solving effort, an innovative program, and more. Poster presentations provide other conference participants an opportunity to quickly and easily become acquainted with a variety of topics.