Watershed Symposium 2022

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The Great Salt Lake has shrunk to the lowest levels ever recorded. Utah's journalism community has responded by combining resources to cover the story together as the Great Salt Lake Collaborative. Newsrooms that normally compete are sharing stories about the lake—and embarking on joint reporting projects to discover what solutions exist to the problem of drought, climate change, and over consumption of water in the West. A team of reporters from the Collaborative recently traveled to California to learn how communities around Owens Lake and Mono Lake responded to the crisis facing those lakes. Loss of in-flows turned Owens Lake into a dust bowl and the largest source of dust pollution in the United States. Mono Lake faced the same fate until a nonprofit secured its right to exist.

The panel will cover what the reporters learned about how Utah could mitigate dust from Great Salt Lake's dry lakebed, the lessons Utah could learn from the legal fight for Mono Lake, and how the communities around Owens Lake and Mono Lake are finding solutions to mitigate the loss or reduction of those lakes. How (if) we can apply the lessons learned in California, what the obstacles might be here in Utah, and potential solutions as we grapple with the shrinking Great Salt Lake.

Learn more in the Great Salt Lake Collaborative's "At Water's Edge" story map, which illustrates the challenges at Owens and Mono lakes and how they can inform the future of the Great Salt Lake, as well as the full series of articles and reporting.

Phragmites australis, or Common Reed, is a very aggressive invasive plant that has invaded wetlands across North America. Great Salt Lake wetlands were invaded by Phragmites after the high waters of the 80's receded. In 2011, there was approximately 23,000 acres of Phragmites. Utah Lake wetlands were also invaded and had approximately 10,500 acres of Phragmites in 2012. The Jordan River is also inundated with Phragmites. Phragmites significantly negatively impacts wetland bird habitat, disrupts hydrology and sediment transport, as well as reduces plant biodiversity. A large effort by the Utah Department of Natural Resources - Divisions of Forestry, Fire and State Lands and Wildlife Resources, as well as many other entities, has made significant progress in controlling Phragmites. This presentation discusses the challenge of Phragmites control, the best practices that have been established, the current efforts taking place, and the results of these efforts.

Resilient watersheds are capable of withstanding and responding to natural disturbances, including wildfire. Collaborative, cross-boundary forest management that creates fire adapted ecosystems and communities will aid our efforts to protect vulnerable water resources and ensure long term water security.

In August of 2021, the Parleys Canyon Fire started alongside Interstate 80. Beginning with two small brush fires, by mid afternoon, the fire spread to 500 acres. Driven by winds and dry conditions, the fire forced residents of the surrounding areas to evacuate from over 5,000 homes. Multiple agencies responded to the fire and were able to fully contain the blaze after eight days. The Parleys Canyon fire presents an example of how a rapid, coordinated response to fire, and some luck, prevented a more severe fire event from destroying communities and threatening water security. Wildfire is a natural and expected occurrence in Utah’s forests, and it plays an important role in the ongoing health and resilience of Utah’s water resources. Past fire suppression practices have contributed to the increase in large, severe wildfires that cause detrimental impacts to habitats, homes, and vulnerable water resources. In the face of climate change, long-term water security is a growing concern, and the impact of catastrophic wildfires on the natural resource we depend on for drinking, irrigation, fishing, and recreation cannot be ignored. Wildfires impact air quality and may also affect available water quality and quantity, both during an active wildfire event and for years afterwards. Past fire events, including the Dollar Ridge Fire, demonstrate the disastrous impacts severe wildfires can have on Utah’s watersheds and the challenges these events present to water resource managers.

The connection between resilient, disturbance adapted forests and a sustainable supply of water is especially evident in Utah and similarly arid states. About half of the water supply in the southwestern United States comes from forests. Approximately 80% of the freshwater resources in the U.S. originate on forested land, and more than 3,400 public drinking water systems are located in watersheds on national forest lands. As we have seen an increase in the number of acres of important forested water-supply watersheds burned in the past 30 years, we have also seen an increase in flooding and erosion that can impair already vulnerable water supplies. Fire events, such as Parleys Canyon, provide homeowners and land managers with an opportunity to recognize the need for wildfire mitigation planning that protects communities and water sources along the Wasatch Front. Through shared stewardship, Utah partners with agencies, entities, and organizations to actively mitigate the impacts of catastrophic wildfire on a landscape scale, with the express purpose of protecting communities and watersheds. Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) manages the Central Utah Project (CUP) and District network of water facilities to ensure citizens and businesses along the Wasatch Front receive clean, reliable water. Operating three water treatment facilities, two hydroelectric plants, nine reservoirs, and overseeing water supply to eight counties, CUWCD recognizes the vulnerabilities of our water infrastructure and the need for collaborative watershed management.

This presentation will highlight both the impact severe wildfires can have on water treatment facilities and the need for collaborative wildfire management to maintain Utah’s current water quality and quantity.

Look for the "big ticket" signs for ways to get raffle tickets!  By visiting exhibitor tables, and more. 

GSL is shrinking and the water users throughout the basin are struggling. A comprehensive supply-demand study of the entire GSL basin has never been accomplished so the Utah Division of Water Resources, USBR and water users have applied to do a basin study to provide the information necessary for sound decision-making.

This year the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has WaterSMART funding available through the Basin Study program for the first time in 5 years. In partnership with water conservancy districts, water users associations, irrigation companies, universities and environmental advocate groups throughout the basin, the Utah Division of Water Resources has applied for a basin study. Basin Studies are collaborative planning efforts cost-shared with non-Federal partners to first assess water supply and demand, then identify strategies to address imbalances. This would be an enormous task, never before undertaken but such a study must be done because only collaborative efforts can attain meaningful solutions to a sickening lake and reduced water supply. Water resource management in the GSL Basin is complex, collective effects on the lake from upstream activities are poorly understood, and upstream water users struggle to understand how best to mitigate adverse impacts to GSL while meeting the needs of water users, making it a perfect basin for this type of study. Attendees will learn what the study would entail and how it would be helpful for water management and policy in the GSL basin.

In this workshop we showcase the tools available to residents of the Great Salt Lake watershed to stabilize plummeting levels of the American West’s largest lake. The Great Salt Lake Open Toolbox is a collection of immediately implementable strategies and policies which offer us a suite of solutions to save the Lake.

Public concern about the ailing Great Salt Lake has reached new heights as the Lake dropped to a record low level for the second year in a row as a function of climate change and its shrinking of our snowpacks. News outlets around the globe reported on the crisis, garnering international attention for our capital city’s namesake. The silver lining of this unfolding environmental crisis at the Great Salt Lake is that Utahns from all walks of life are eager to learn about what can be done to save the Great Salt Lake in the face of climate change. A range of stakeholders and members of the public have used public forums, op-eds, official meetings, social media and a litany of other avenues to plead with others to solve the problem. This echo chamber has created momentum, and millions of Utahns are eager to get involved and be part of the solution to protect the American West’s largest lake from shrinking further. While nearly everybody agrees that we need to save the Lake, there isn’t much consensus on the best way to achieve that. What is the best way to keep water in the Great Salt Lake?

In this presentation, we open and unpack the tools available to save the Great Salt Lake and showcase which options have the potential to truly stabilize the water levels of the American West’s largest lake. We will explore which tools are ready to be implemented, what barriers there are to using other tools and how much water the Great Salt Lake really needs to sustain our people, our wildlife and our economy. The Great Salt Lake Open Toolbox has been assembled by studying the lessons learned from other western cities and states that have managed to protect their local aquatic landscapes. While no one tool may be a silver bullet for all the Lake’s problems, smart implementation of several tools at once could be a ‘silver buckshot’ to restore this vital aquatic ecosystem and the economy it supports.

This workshop explores what it means to save the Great Salt Lake by utilizing a collection of strategies and policies to get more water to the lake. We will unpack how each tool can contribute toward a sustainable paradigm for the Lake and its needed water budget. This workshop is jam-packed with solutions to save the Great Salt Lake and participants will leave inspired in the knowledge that there are tools to ensure we scan ustain the Lake for generations to come.

Four years into building & monitoring beaver dam analogs in the Great Salt Lake watershed and throughout Utah, we have complied several years of data. What have we learned and what opportunities do we have to improve restoration monitoring moving forward?

Streams and rivers across the American west are subject to habitat loss due in part to the extirpation of American beaver (Castor canadensis). Low-tech process-based restoration (LTPBR) has gained momentum across Utah and the region as a means to re-introduce beaver and the processes that they catalyze in river systems. We have implemented and monitored over 15 of these projects in the Great Salt Lake Watershed along with state partners and private landowners. These projects are motivated by a number of co-benefits, from riparian vegetation recruitment to floodplain reconnection, drought resilience, and extreme fire mitigation. Monitoring is a high priority, but fast and standardized protocols are often too generic to be helpful for adaptive management. The Rapid Stream-Riparian Assessment (RSRA) protocol provides metrics of overall riparian health for small to medium sized streams in this region, but not directly informative to adaptive management. In 2022, we developed a supplement to the RSRA for LTPBR projects to inform adaptive management more directly. Here, we will present the results from RSRAs on 25 restoration sites statewide before and up to 3 years post-implementation. We also share initial Amphibian Habitat Assessments from restoration sites in the elevational range of Boreal Toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) and an overview and initial test group feedback on the adaptive management protocol.

Groundwater levels in Utah and throughout the west continue to decline. Groundwater is an important resource providing water not only for human consumption but also for agricultural and industry needs. In order to preserve this valuable resource we need to increase our efforts to put water back into the ground.

In 2005, Utah declared Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) as a critical element in most conjunctive management practices as part of their “Utah State Water Plan”. In 2017, Governor Herbert commissioned a Recommended State Water Strategy where public comments included ““Vigorously pursue … aquifer storage and recovery projects.” yet few ASR programs have been implemented since. Recently, in the 2021 Water Resource Plan ASR and other managed aquifer programs received little attention. This presentation will cover the increasing water challenges and drought situation in Utah and surrounding western states due to in large part climate change. The presentation will also discuss the successes and challenges of existing and potential ASR programs in Utah. Attendees will understand how climate change is affecting our groundwater resources and what solutions should be considered in the long term to protect this valuable resource

Join us for a delicous vegetarian buffet! We're reducing the carbon footprint of this event with a meatless menu and eliminating almost all single-use (disposable) plastics and paper.

This presentation will feature current work of Provo and Eagle Mountain to address water scarcity through their aquifer storage and recovery efforts and include examples of mapping social, jurisdictional, and economic factors to assess infrastructure and population vulnerability from impacts of climate change.

Our climate is changing, Utah and the west are in the midst of one of the worst droughts on record, and citizens are asking about what can be done to prevent it from getting worse and how to adapt. Lake Mead and Powell are at their lowest levels on record and Utah’s reservoirs are rarely full. Some organizations and industries are being proactive on this front and preparing for extreme drought that threatens our water supplies and fuel wildfires and on the other end extreme storm events that lead to flood damage, erosion and sediment clogging our infrastructure and filling our reservoirs. Others are overwhelmed by the possible extent of impacts. Cities, counties, and watershed districts are addressing this difficult issue in many ways. From dealing with unprecedented drought and water scarcity to flood events to developing adaptation plans, Utah cities and watershed districts along with others across the nation are being proactive through planning for the future of their water supplies, while also addressing the challenges of extreme damaging and erosive flood events.

This presentation will feature current work of Provo and Eagle Mountain to address water scarcity, and contrast this with what several watershed districts in other parts of the country are doing to address volatility in precipitation events. Examples include increasing efficiency in the management of groundwater and surface water sources, rethinking how we store water by using aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) instead of surface water reservoirs, aquifer sustainability planning, facilitating climate resilience workshops with local communities for them to plan for upcoming changes from storms, floods, heat, and warming winters. The results of these workshops have been incorporated into City Comprehensive Plans and resulted in multimillion dollar ASR projects. Other examples include mapping social, jurisdictional, and economic factors to assess population impacts of climate change, infrastructure vulnerability studies, and designing plant community restorations prepared for invasive species encroachment. This presentation will provide several examples of climate adaptation projects initiated by cities in Utah and watershed districts from other parts of the country.

Utah Lake is such an important part of Utah and should be well managed. Part of that management is studying the fish within and determining if those fish could adversely effect those who fish at the lake. In our study we are looking at trace metal content specifically since many trace metals like Arsenic can severely effect human beings.

Utah Lake (Central Utah, USA) is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake, and the third largest freshwater body west of the Mississippi River. It serves as the main irrigation source for the surrounding area which contains more than 600,000 people. Utah Lake is surrounded by multiple anthropogenic and natural sources of trace metal pollution that affect the fish which are consumed by residents. The purpose of the study is to analyze the content of selected trace metals in four popular sport fish: White Bass (Morone chrysops), Black Bullhead (Ameiurus melas), Northern Pike (Esox lucius), and Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio). One hundred fifty-nine fish were collected from the Provo Bay area of Utah Lake, divided into male and female, dissected, and separated into two sets of tissues (offal and filet). The samples were weighed (0.0005g) in replicates of three, digested in the MARS using EPA method 3015, and analyzed in the ICP-OES for trace metal (As, Cd, Cr, and Pb) content. Statistical analysis was performed using the R programming language. Results reveal that trace metal levels present in the fish tested exceeded standards set by the European Union; As was detected at 0.295 ppm (p<0.0001), Cd at 0.040 ppm (p<0.100), and Pb at 0.415 ppm (p<0.001). For the most part trace metal levels were higher in the offal tissues compared to the filets. For example, Pb, Cd, and Cr levels were moderate to highly significant (p<0.01 to p<0.0001) and found in concentrations of 0.360 ppm, 0.020 ppm, and 0.280 ppm in the filets and 0.63 ppm, 0.105 ppm, and 0.82 ppm in the offals, respectively. In contrast with the overall trend, Arsenic in the filets of White Bass, Common Carp, and Northern Pike are 2.27, 1.45, and 1.44 times higher than in the offal tissues. Northern Pike also broke the trend in Lead levels where the filets had a concentration of 0.340 ppm versus 0.240 ppm in the offal tissues. These results, while preliminary, show that people who eat certain fish from Utah Lake may be at risk of exposure to toxic levels of trace metals. Furthermore, this study could help regulatory agencies manage trace metal release into Utah Lake.

Linking how annual variability in climate drives 2-3 year changes in streamflow, resulting in a multi-year response of GSL volume.

When in drought, it is especially pertinent to understand how much water is available, where it is available, and when it will be available for down-stream water users and for ecological impacts on large scale ecosystems such as Great Salt Lake (GSL). Headwater catchments are the primary water suppliers and storage regions for Great Salt Lake water supplying tributaries. These catchments hold snow at high elevations and release that snowmelt as seasonal providers to seasonally recharge Great Salt Lake. Along with seasonal controls from snowmelt, headwater catchments hold water within the catchment subsurface and slowly release water throughout the dry season and into the following subsequent years, buffering lake levels even during low snow years, or exacerbating reductions in streamflow input when catchment storage is below average. This project addresses the challenge of predicting Great Salt Lake levels, and begins to address the upstream processes that lead to high or low GSL levels. Using over 118 years of historical streamflow and climate data in 10 headwater tributaries to the Jordan River and Weber River (both terminating in GSL), we identify a surprising multi-year periodicity in headwater catchment storage. This multi-year periodicity of high and low storage in the headwaters is positively related to 3-4 years of antecedent precipitation, and 2-3 years of antecedent seasonal melt rate. The previous year’s temperature is negatively related to catchment storage, suggesting that in in warmer years, headwater storage is depleted. We also find that catchment storage is directly related to GSL elevation, where high storage results in high GSL lake level, and low storage results in low GSL elevation, there seems to be a 2–3 year lag time in this relationship, suggesting that headwater catchments storage may respond at a faster time scale (1-4 years) to snowpack and temperature variability, but GSL may respond to climate patterns over a longer timescale. These findings suggest that GSL is controlled by multi-year climatic patterns that first control streamflow totals in headwater catchments and subsequently control how much water is available for runoff into GSL.

With Great Salt Lake dessication, Northern Utahns have expressed worry about the effects of dust storms on air quality and health. We present dust flux and geochemistry data for the Salt Lake Valley, and investigate possible sources of specific metals within dust, as well as the current limitations of environmental health evaluations of dust.

The Salt Lake Valley, UT, USA, home to more than 2 million people, is situated proximal to the drying Great Salt Lake and to the east of other dry playas. Prior work has found that these playas contribute dust to snowpack in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains to the east of the cities, and that dust contain high relative abundances of trace metals like Pb and Cu. However, no prior study has characterized the contributions of geogenic dust and industrial particulate pollution to communities along the Wasatch Front. In this study, we analyzed the dust deposited in 18 passive samplers positioned near the Great Salt Lake, Ogden, Bountiful, the Salt Lake Valley, and Lehi for total dust flux, the < 63 μm dust fraction, 87Sr/86Sr, and trace element geochemistry. We observed the highest dust fluxes at wealthy exurban sites near the western boundary of the urban area. Within the urban corridor, strontium isotope ratios and the spatial distribution of trace elements suggested that Great Salt Lake playa dust contributes only a small amount of material to dust in urban areas. Instead, based on the < 63 μm dust fraction, our results suggest the contributions of local soil disturbance. In our data, many trace metals exceed EPA Regional Screening Levels for soil (As, Co, Cu, La, Li, Mn, Ni, Tl, and U) and exhibited enrichments relative to both upper continental crust and playa dust collections. This suggested the direct contribution of particulate pollution via industries like Cu mining, concentrating and smelting, and oil refining, as well as historical pesticide and herbicide applications. Bulk ‘priority pollutant’ relative abundances did not track income, race or ethnicity demographics. However, certain elements (As, V) indicated a statistically significant positive correlation with income, whereas Pb, Tl and Ni indicate enrichment in the least wealthy and least white neighborhoods. Findings from this study suggest the importance of understanding constituent-specific loadings from particulate matter and dust in urban areas influenced by industry.

Hang with us to the bitter-end and you'll be rewarded with a chance to win the best prizes! Look for the "big ticket" signs for ways to get raffle tickets.  By visiting exhibitor tables, and more.