Benefits to the State of Utah

The UCWWR used the USGS 104 Program to leverage additional support to directly benefit the State of Utah in areas of:

• Source water protection
• On-site wastewater treatment training and certification
• Management strategies for small dams in Utah for mitigation of fish damage

The Utah Center for Water Resources Research assists the State of Utah with the conceptualization, design, development, and execution of Source Water Protection Plans.

We continue working specifically with the Division of Drinking Water and the Division of Water Quality within the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on this project.

A joint committee is established, comprised of Utah State University faculty and students, as well as staff of the Utah DEQ, to address source water protection issues in Utah. This has resulted in a coordinated development of source water protection plans for the State of Utah. A major river basin within Utah was selected for assistance, and information generation has been initiated. Included in the results are the on-site (septic tank/soil absorption bed) wastewater surveys, since on-site systems represent a non-point source of contamination to source water areas. The systems that have presented major problems as identified by the Utah Water Quality Board have been summarized in a database and incorporated as part of the source water protection information development.

The On-Site wastewater treatment training and certification program expanded this year to involve additional stakeholders including local elected officials, homeowners, and the Utah League of Cities and Towns. Training courses have been expanded to include an advanced course on alternative on-site treatment technologies for addressing sites that cannot utilize conventional systems. The UCWWR is also working with the State Department of Environmental Quality and the State Engineer’s Office to develop and evaluate sediment management guidelines to minimize or eliminate adverse impacts on downstream fish and aquatic life upon sediment release due to dam rehabilitation activities. Several hundred small dames in Utah will benefit from this project, which is co-funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Non-Point Source Pollution program. Through the UCWRR, the State of Utah benefits directly in the several areas identified with regard to water related public health and environmental protection as well as with regard to water sustainability issues in both urban and rural areas of Utah.

COLLABORATION WITH STATE AGENCIES TO ADDRESS STATE NEEDS

The UCWRR maintains strong communications with water related state agencies through participation on state boards, in conferences and committees, and through personal contacts. The UCWRR provides technical assistance and support in response to requests from state agencies, as described below:

The Utah On-Site Wastewater Treatment Center was established in response to UDEQ, Division of Water Quality, and the 12 Utah local health departments' needs to provide technology transfer, training, information dissemination, and research on onsite wastewater treatment to public health officials, local elected officials, designers and installers, homeowners, and university students. The UCWRR offered seven training courses and a state symposium in FY2002 that address on-site wastewater issues in Utah.

In response to requests from the Division of Drinking Water, UDEQ, the UCWRR has utilized the U.S.G.S. appropriated funding to develop a source water assessment tool to address the federal mandated Source Water Assessment Program. Utah's steep, mountainous terrain and high intensity rainfall and snowmelt potential create a risk of rapid movement of water and pollutants through a watershed to a drinking water system. Three Colleges, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Engineering at USU are involved in addressing this state need in FY2002.

The UCWRR is also assisting the State Engineer's Office, Division of Dam Safety, and UDEQ in collaboration with Trout Unlimited and other fish-protection groups in Utah with the development of a sediment management plan for small dams in Utah to minimize or eliminate adverse effects of sediment releases to native fish species.

Two additional current projects implemented to support state needs include: (1) A GIS-based approach for better statewide water use estimation for the UDNR, Division of Water Resources, and (2) Weber and Ogden River Basin water quality management through the development of computer-based decision support tools and models for water quality improvement for UDEQ, local governments, and Utah water districts.