Utah DNR now tracks groundwater trends online, some concern over depleting levels
Aug 7, 2024, 5:00 AM | Updated: 12:28 pm
Water irrigates an alfalfa field on Bill Butcher’s farm near Price in Carbon County on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Butcher participates in Utah State University’s Ag-DRIP program to optimize his water consumption. The alfalfa is used to feed Butcher’s cattle. Groundwater supply has long been a focus of conservation efforts in Utah. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A new online tool is helping the state gather data on Utah’s groundwater levels. And results are raising some concern about depleting groundwater levels, mainly in southern and southwestern Utah.
The Utah Groundwater Data Hub online aggregates 30 years of state and federal data so researchers and policymakers can help identify areas where Utah may need to conserve water, where climate might be impacting water supply, and where changes to storage are needed.
They use data from well sites across the state and the US Geological Survey data to monitor all the wells, which will be especially helpful in cities that rely on groundwater.
Researchers said they are seeing some concerning trends in groundwater supplies, mainly in southwestern Utah.
The Utah Geological Survey’s Groundwater Program Manager, Hugh Hurlow, noted they’ve been particularly concerned about the Parawan Valley, north of Cedar City.
“We’ve been working there for a little while, and we’re seeing really steady declines due to the established agriculture. And so they’re getting to levels where they’re really going to have to adjust some in some way,” Hurlow said.
As for overall trends, Hurlow said human use is also impacting groundwater supplies.
“You might see a little bump up in when there’s a wet year or two, but really what we’ve seen is overall is a return to the same rates of decline after that. So it’s really the use,” he said.
