UTAH DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS
GROUND-WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE WEBER DELTA SUB-AREA OF THE EAST SHORE
AREA
EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 31, 1995
GROUND-WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN
FOR THE WEBER DELTA SUB-AREA OF THE EAST SHORE AREA
(Water Right Areas 31 and 35)
I. INTRODUCTION
This document sets forth the State Engineer's policy for the
management and administration of ground water in the Weber Delta
Sub-Area. The objectives of this ground-water management plan
are to guide future ground-water development, to establish a
policy for new appropriations of water and change applications on
existing water rights, and to protect the resource from over
utilization.
The area includes those portions of Weber and Davis counties
bounded by the Weber-Box Elder County line on the north, the edge
of the valley fill on the east, the Farmington-Centerville line
on the south, and the Great Salt Lake on the west.
II. BACKGROUND
The estimated annual recharge to the ground-water aquifer in the
Weber Delta Sub-Area is estimated to be 95,000 acre-feet. Total
discharge from ground water is estimated to be 95,000 acre-feet
per year, of which withdrawals from wells account for about
53,800 acre-feet.
Monitoring of ground-water levels in the area indicates general
declines over the entire sub-area. Declines of over 40 feet have
occurred in the area from Layton to Riverdale.
The quality of the ground water is generally good except for some
pockets of poor quality. Some concern has been expressed about
ground-water contamination on and near Hill Air Force Base due to
past disposal of chemicals. To control the migration of the
contaminants, it may be necessary to place restrictions on future
ground-water withdrawals in and adjacent to these areas.
From a review of the existing ground water rights in this
sub-area, it is estimated that "potential withdrawals", under
perfected water rights and approved applications to appropriate
water, total 110,000 acre-feet annually. This water right
analysis indicates that more "paper water" exists than "wet
water". Many of these "paper water" rights may no longer be used
and may have been lost through non-use. Depending on the amount
of these unused water rights, there may still be opportunities
for a limited number of new appropriations of ground water. Not
all water rights are used each year to their fullest extent;
therefore, to fully utilize the resource, it is reasonable to
grant water rights in excess of the safe annual yield of the
ground-water system. A primary purpose of the management plan is
to ensure that actual well withdrawals do not exceed the
long-term ground-water recharge. If withdrawals did exceed the
safe yield of the aquifer, then water rights would have to be
distributed based upon priority.
III. ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN
To administer, manage and protect the ground water resources in
the Weber Delta sub-area, the State Engineer hereby adopts a
ground water management plan as set forth below.
1) Diversions from wells in the entire sub-area will be limited
to a total of 90,000 acre-feet annually on a 5 year moving
average and shall not exceed 120,000 acre-feet in any single
calendar year.
2) Wells which are drilled subsequent to the implementation of
this plan shall be spaced such that a maximum of 15 feet of
drawdown results on any well with an earlier priority date.
Users in a particular area may enter into a written
agreement for a variance from this requirement subject
to approval by the State Engineer, and if no more than 15
feet of drawdown results with third party rights.
3) Applications to appropriate water will be considered on a
limited basis under the following guidelines:
a) Applications to appropriate water from the principal
ground water aquifer for single family domestic wells
shall be limited to diversions of 1.0 acre-foot
annually and must be located in areas not served by a
public water system. These applications will be
approved for a fixed period of time subject to the
condition that when a public water system becomes
available, the well will be properly sealed and the
water right will terminate.
b) In considering new applications to appropriate water
for quantities greater than single family domestic
wells, preference will be given to municipal water
suppliers who can demonstrate an immediate need for the
water. No new applications to appropriate water will
be approved in those areas where the historical water
level declines are determined to be critical.
c) Applications to appropriate water from drains or
shallow wells of 30 feet or less in depth will still be
considered based on the individual merits of the
application.
4) Change applications will be considered on their own
individual merits and critically evaluated for effects on
other wells and the ground-water system. Applications will
be critically reviewed if they seek to move a water right a
large distance, into an area which is experiencing
significant declines in water level, or propose to convert
surface or shallow ground water rights to a deep well
(greater than 30 feet deep). No change applications which
propose to transfer water into the Layton-Riverdale area,
which has the largest declines in the area, will be
approved.
5) Requests for extension of time to place water to beneficial
use for pending applications will be critically reviewed as
per Section 73-3-12 of the Utah Code. If the State Engineer
finds unjustified delays or a lack of due diligence, the
request may be granted in part, the priority of the
application reduced, or the request may be denied entirely.
6) All wells which potentially could divert 100 acre-feet or
more per year shall be equipped with a totalizing meter and
the water user shall report the annual withdrawals recorded
by the meters to the State Engineer.
7) A number of contaminated sites have been identified on or
near Hill Air Force Base. For the purposes of this
management plan, these areas are referred to as restricted
areas. To protect public health and reduce the movement of
these contaminants, no new applications to appropriate water
or change applications which propose to transfer water into
these restricted areas will be granted. The restricted
areas are:
Restricted Area 1
Township 4 North, Range 1 West, Salt Lake Base & Meridian:
NW1/4, SW1/4 Section 4;
All Section 5;
All Section 6;
NE1/4, NW1/4, SE1/4 Section 7;
All Section 8
NW1/4, SW1/4 Section 9
NW1/4 Section 16
All Section 17
Township 5 North, Range 1 West, Salt Lake Base & Meridian:
NW1/4, SW1/4, SE1/4 Section 28
SE1/4 Section 29
SE1/4 Section 31
NE1/4, SW1/4, SE1/4 Section 32
NE1/4, NW1/4, SE1/4 Section 33
Restricted Area 2
Township 5 North, Range 1 West, Salt Lake Base & Meridian:
SW1/4 Section 18
NW1/4, SW1/4, SE1/4 Section 19
Township 5 North, Range 2 West, Salt Lake Base & Meridian:
SE1/4 Section 13
SW1/4, SE1/4 Section 23
NE1/4, SW1/4 Section 24
SW1/4 Section 25
NE1/4, NW1/4 Section 26
Efforts to control these contaminants are currently under
way. When these contaminants are successfully cleaned up and
no longer pose a threat to ground-water aquifers, the State
Engineer will consider allowing the construction of wells in
these sections.
8) Water users are requested to submit copies of any water
quality information or testing results to the State
Engineer. Additional diversion restrictions or other
measures deemed necessary may be imposed, after public
review, if it is determined that water quality in the
aquifer is deteriorating. Any information relating to
determinations of aquifer characteristics should also be
provided to the State Engineer.
The area covered by this proposed plan is rapidly being
urbanized. Lands previously devoted to irrigated agriculture are
being converted to commercial and residential uses. Public water
suppliers are moving to meet these new demands on their systems.
As a consequence, suppliers are using more ground water and it
appears this trend will continue during the next several years.
This plan can, hopefully, provide a framework for the orderly and
efficient development of ground-water supplies while minimizing
such attendant problems as well interference, contamination, and
over-utilization.