TOOELE & RUSH VALLEYS
- AREA 15
Updated: July 27, 2004
DESCRIPTION:
Located on the eastern edge of the Tooele County
from T4N to T10S, these two valleys are administered separately because of
the weak hydrologic connection they have through South Mountain. This area is bounded on the north by the Great
Salt Lake, on the west by the Stansbury and Onaqui Mountains, on the east
by the Oquirrh and East Tintic Mountains, and on the south by the Sheeprock
Mountains. The highest point in the
area is 11,031 foot Deseret Peak, while the lowest is the shore of the Great
Salt Lake at about 4,200 feet, giving a total relief of about 6,830 feet. Click here
to see a map of the area.
MANAGEMENT:
Three Proposed Determination of Water Rights
books and an addendum have been published for this area between 1973 and 1999,
however, no pre-trial orders or final decrees have been issued. There are no state-administered distribution
systems in this area. The Tooele Valley
portion of this area is subject to the conditions of the 1996 Tooele
Valley Ground-water Management Plan.
There are approximately 4,200 water rights on file with the State Engineer
in this area.
SOURCES: SURFACE WATER - Surface waters are considered to be
fully appropriated. New diversions and
consumptive uses in these sources must be accomplished by change applications
filed on owned or acquired rights.
Non-consumptive use applications, such as hydroelectric power
generation, will be considered on their individual merits. The only exception is for small amounts from
sources that would otherwise flow to the Great Salt Lake.
GROUND WATER - Tooele Valley is closed to appropriations except for small
amounts of shallow ground water (less than 10 feet from the surface) which
would otherwise flow to the Great Salt Lake. New diversions and consumptive uses in other sources must be accomplished
by change applications filed on owned or acquired rights. Rush Valley is open to small appropriations
up to 0.1 cubic feet per second. Changes
from surface to underground sources, and vice versa, are also considered on
their individual merits, with emphasis on the existence of a hydrologic tie
between the two sources, the potential for interference with existing rights,
and to ensure that there is no enlargement of the underlying rights.
Non-consumptive use applications, such as hydroelectric power generation,
will be considered on their individual merits.
Temporary appropriations may be allowed for very short term projects. Applicants are placed on notice that development
should be pursued as soon as possible. Extension
of time requests will be critically reviewed beyond the initial five-year
period.
GENERAL: Applications are
advertised in the Tooele Transcript.
The general irrigation diversion duty for this area, which the State
Engineer uses for evaluation purposes, is generally 4.0 acre-feet per acre
per year. The consumptive use requirement
is determined from the publication
Consumptive
Use of Irrigated Crops in Utah
, Research Report 145, Utah State University,
1994, unless the applicant submits other data for consideration. This area is administered by the
Weber
River Regional Office
in Salt Lake City.
REFERENCES: Technical Publication
No. 4, Ground Water in Tooele Valley, Tooele County, Utah; Utah State
Engineer; 1946.
Technical Publication No. 12, Reevaluation of the Ground-Water Resources of Tooele Valley, Utah;
Utah State Engineer; 1965.
Technical Publication No. 23, Hydrologic Reconnaissance of Rush Valley, Tooele County, Utah; Utah
Department of Natural Resources; 1969.
Technical Publication No. 69, Ground-Water Conditions in Tooele Valley, Utah, 1976-78; Utah
Department of Natural Resources; 1981.
Technical Publication No. 107, Hydrology and Potential for Ground-Water Development in Southeastern
Tooele Valley and Adjacent Areas in the Oquirrh Mountains, Tooele County, Utah;
Utah Department of Natural Resources; 1994.
Water Circular No. 2,
Ground Water in Tooele Valley, Utah; Utah Department of Natural Resources;
1970.
Basic Data Report No. 7,
Selected Hydrologic Data, Tooele Valley, Tooele County, Utah; Utah State Engineer;
1963.
Information Bulletin No. 26, Test Drilling for Fresh Water in Tooele Valley, Utah; Utah State Engineer;
1981.
U.S. Geological Survey; 1995 (viewing this document requires the DjVu
browser plugin available from LizardTech)
MODELING: Regional Ground-Water
Flow, Carbonate-Rock Province, Nevada, Utah, and Adjacent States;
USGS
Open-File Reports 93-170
and 93-420; 1993.
Tooele Valley Ground-Water
Flow Model, 1994.