9621

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9621
• Author: Utah Board of Water Resources.
• Title: Utah State Water Plan - Uintah Basin.
• USFW Year: 1999.
• USFW - Doc Type: Salt Lake City, UT.
• Copyright Material: NO

quality standards is made through
monitoring programs established by
regulations. Rules for Public Drinking
Water Systems (RPDWS) outline
procedures for local treatment plant
operators to follow and the state's
responsibilities in water quality testing.
The Utah Safe Drinking Water Act and
the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act,
with all amendments, are discussed as
are drinking water problems associated
with facility operations and
groundwater contamination.
Per capita water use ranges from
223 gallons per capita per day (gpcd) in
Duchesne County to 366 gpcd in
Daggett County and 240 gpcd in
Uintah County. Water use in Daggett
County is high due to tourists visiting Flaming
Gorge Reservoir.
Drinking water issues revolve around water
quality and the protection from contamination by
untreated wastewater and treated wastewater
effluent, and by poor land use practices involving
streams, reservoirs and groundwater aquifers.

2.12 Water Quality
Section 12 presents data and information on
existing levels of water quality throughout the
Uintah Basin. Sources of pollution are identified,
problems and solutions are discussed, and a
recommendation is given for control and
irnprovement by responsible agencies.
Most of the water in the basin is of good
quality. The quality of some surface water streams
carries high sediment loads during periods of high
spring snowrnelt runoff and when high intensity
summer storms occur.
An assessment of water quality beneficial use
support was made on 2,834 miles (80 percent) of the
total stream miles. Of these, 2,208 miles were
assessed as fully supporting all of their beneficial
uses, 240 miles were assessed as partially
supporting, and 386 miles were assessed as non-
supporting at least one beneficial use.
Most groundwater pollution is from natural
geologic sources such as the Green River and

Mountain meadow, north slope of Uintas

Wasatch forrnations. Excess selenium and alkali
have been monitored in Stewart Lake Waterfowl
Management Area, Lower Ashley Creek, Ouray
National Wildlife Refuge and Pariette Wetlands.
The NRCS Uinta Basin Salinity Control Project
(which includes the Duchesne and Ashley Valley
drainages) projects a reduction of 52,400 acre-feet of
return flow from on-farm irrigation, deep percolation
and off-farm lateral seepage loss. It also projects a
total of 111,210 tons of salt load reduction annually
to the Colorado River.
Issues impacting water quality in the Uintah
Basin are an increase in salt-loading from irrigated
agriculture, water and land contamination due to
oil/gas well drilling, and elevated levels of total
phosphorus and dissolved solids in several basin
streams. The federal government should increase
funding to the on-farm (USDA) and off-farm Bureau
of Reclamation salinity programs to achieve goals in
salinity reduction. Also, the Bureau of Land
Management, Forest Service and the Utah Division
of Water Quality should increase water quality
monitoring in selected drainages for any presence of
effluent from oil and gas development projects. The
Utah Division of Water Quality, Division of Wildlife
Resources, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Bureau
of Land Management, Forest Service and others
should also cooperate in future data-gathering and
analysis.

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