iUtah and GAMUT
The resulting EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) program funding award from the National Science Foundation launched iUTAH (innovative Urban Transitions and Aridregion HydroSustainability): a 5-year, multi-institution, interdisciplinary project focused on water sustainability in Utah.
One of iUTAH’s lasting legacies is its well-established network of environmental observations built as part of the GAMUT (Gradients Along Mountain to Urban Transitions) network. In the Logan River Basin, there were originally 8 GAMUT aquatic stations and 4 climate sensor stations that measure, record, and publicly distribute a wide range of climate (e.g., precipitation, snow depth, air temperature, relative humidity), hydrology (e.g., water depth, flow rates), and water quality (e.g., water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, nitrate) information.
From diagnostics and restoration of impaired urban rivers to modeling future water availability, these data were collected to help identify factors controlling the movement of water and other substances through rivers and streams. The sensor network logged and transmitted the data, which was then stored in databases and made publicly available via web-based open access tools and an online data repository. The networks and information streams established by iUTAH laid a solid foundation for better water management in Cache Valley, but also provided a perfect opportunity to study the impacts of rapidly growing rural counties on water use and quality across the state of Utah.
The Logan River Observatory
In 2018, the Logan GAMUT network transitioned to become the Logan River Observatory (LRO). The LRO has expanded field data collection and redesigned much of the original cyberinfrastructure. There are now 20 discharge stations, 7 full water quality stations, 13 partial water quality stations, 4 full climate stations, and 2 partial climate stations. The goals of the LRO are to provide long-term, comprehensive hydrologic data to inform future state-wide water management decisions based on detailed observations and Utah specific hydrologic research. Drs. Bethany Neilson and Jeffery Horsburgh, the LRO co-directors, have worked to maintain and expand the partnerships forged during iUTAH to ensure that the wealth of data continues to benefit the stakeholders who rely on it.
The Logan River Observatory team is now partnering with various local and regional stakeholders including Cache Water District, Logan City, Cache County, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Trout Unlimited, and Utah State University to build and support existing infrastructure. We have also been working with the Logan River Task Force to coordinate efforts and provide data to support their needs. Other entities that have identified needs for ongoing data collection within the Logan River basin include the Nature Conservancy, the Utah Division of Water Quality, the Utah Division of Water Resources, the Utah Division of Water Rights, and Pacificorp. More broadly, data systems and software developed for managing LRO data are now being used to collect, store, manage, and share data at measurement stations located throughout the state of Utah, including the Great Salt Lake Basin.