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USGS · 70043282

Hydrology of the Beaver Valley area, Beaver County, Utah, with emphasis on ground water

Abstract

Beaver Valley includes 534 square miles in southwestern Utah, in the Basin and Range physiographic province. The project area consists of a valley plain underlain by unconsolidated to partly consolidated material. The valley plain is bounded by mountains that are composed of partly consolidated to consolidated rocks of Pennsylvanian through Tertiary age except for local thin unconsolidated surficial deposits of Quaternary age. The water needs of the valley are supplied mainly by four streams rising in the Tushar Mountains along the eastern side of the valley and by wells in the unconsolidated to partly consolidated materials of the valley plain. The objectives of this study were (1) to measure and analyze the discharge/recharges rates and (2) to measure and analyze the total amount of water in storage in the ground-water reservoirs.

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90° N90° S · 180° W ← longitude → 180° E
Source-reported bounding extent: 38.15° to 38.5° latitude; -112.9° to -112.4° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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BibTeXRIS

R. W. Mower. 1978. Hydrology of the Beaver Valley area, Beaver County, Utah, with emphasis on ground water. https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70043282

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Hydrology and simulation of ground-water flow in Kamas Valley, Summit County, Utah

Kamas Valley, Utah, is located about 50 miles east of Salt Lake City and is undergoing residential development. The increasing number of wells and septic systems raised concerns of water managers and prompted this hydrologic study. About 350,000 acre-feet per year of surface water flows through Kamas Valley in the Weber River, Beaver Creek, and Provo River, which originate in the Uinta Mountains east of the study area. The ground-water system in this area consists of water in unconsolidated deposits and consolidated rock; water budgets indicate very little interaction between consolidated rock and unconsolidated deposits. Most recharge to consolidated rock occurs at higher altitudes in the mountains and discharges to streams and springs upgradient of Kamas Valley. About 38,000 acre-feet per year of water flows through the unconsolidated deposits in Kamas Valley. Most recharge is from irrigation and seepage from major streams; most discharge is to Beaver Creek in the middle part of the valley. Long-term water-level fluctuations range from about 3 to 17 feet. Seasonal fluctuations exceed 50 feet. Transmissivity varies over four orders of magnitude in both the unconsolidated deposits and consolidated rock and is typically 1,000 to 10,000 feet squared per day in unconsolidated deposits and 100 feet squared per day in consolidated rock as determined from specific capacity. Water samples collected from wells, streams, and springs had nitrate plus nitrite concentrations (as N) substantially less than 10 mg/L. Total and fecal coliform bacteria were detected in some surface-water samples and probably originate from livestock. Septic systems do not appear to be degrading water quality. A numerical ground-water flow model developed to test the conceptual understanding of the ground-water system adequately simulates water levels and flow in the unconsolidated deposits. Analyses of model fit and sensitivity were used to refine the conceptual and numerical models.

Utah