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Show 4 - RECOVERY TIMES - MAY 15, 1 995 COMMUNITY ISSUES WATERSHED PROTECTION The Town of Castle Valley is currently participating in a water study conducted primarily by the Utah Division of Water Rights. This study is focused on determining the amount of water in the Castle Valley watershed. There are also some tests being conducted regarding the chemical make-up (inorganic) of the water from several wells. This present study is called a water “budget” study. To protect a ground water aquifer resource, it is also essential to know the location of the recharge zones where new water enters our aquifer. Special protection can then be directed to these particular areas. After reading these two articles, I contacted Bill Damery in the Division of Water Quality. He felt that the Town of Castle Valley needed to have the recharge zones identified for our aquifer. He also thought that there was a good chance that the Town would qualify for Federal grant money, and suggested that the Town request the DiviSIon of Water Quality see if a study would be possible and if grant money would be available. I have written a letter of request as he suggested. The Division is now beginning the process of evaluating the request for the study to map our aquifer recharge zones. If the evaluation is favorable, the Town of Castle Valley would have to contribute some amount of matching funds (on the order of several thousand dollars), in order to obtain a much larger Federal grant. The following two articles are reprinted from the Utah Watershed Review with permission from the authors and from the Utah Watershed Review. These articles give some information about new approaches to watershed protection in Utah. The article by Bill Damery appeared in the March/April 1995 issue; the article by Mack Croft appearedintheJan/Feb1995 issue. Jack Campbell Salt Lake City Plans Aquifer Protection By Bill Damery Utah DepartmentofEnvironmental Quality Utah' Watershed Review Salt Lake City is about to become the first Utah city to carry out an aquifer recharge protection zoning ordinance. The city has recently entered into a collaborative relationship with Salt Lake CityCounty Health Department to protect their local groundwaters.’I'hisprogramwillprevent increased ground water contamination risks from future business activities by using a zon— ingoverlaydistrict.TheUtah DivisionofWater Quality (DWQ) urges municipalities to consider the need for protecting its existing and future drinking water sources. According to Salt Lake City ordinance 1 75,theAquiferRecharge District(ARD) overlay district will help protect the aquifer from furflierlong-tennwaterqualitydegradationdueto land-use changes. The ordinance integrates specific protective practices and bestmanagement practices (BMPs) with certain new activities and land uses. BMPs are recommended practices for engaging in activities that are likely to cause pollution if they are not implemented or managed property. These BMPs will include such activities as electric platters, auto repair shops, dry cleaners, the use and storage ofpesticides and herbicides, wood preserving/ stripping, drains notconnected to sewers (Class source of recharge to the principal aquifer is V wells), high technology industries andphoto- inflow of water from fractured consolidated graphic laboratories. rock and seepage from streams emerging from Salt Lake County plans to startthe program mountains. The entrances to canyons along has apilotprojectwith Salt Lake City and within the Wasatch Front are especially susceptible one yearobtain BoardofHealth approval for the to contamination because ofhigh percolation new regulation. In this way, they can identify rates. If the recharge zone becomes polluted, and work out appropriate processes and lan- contamination may eventually reach municiguage to incorporate the program throughout pal wells. Salt Lake City can enact this ordinance Salt Lake County. To support the county’s new BMPs, Salt because municipalities have the legal and Lake City has created an overlay district in stamtoryauthoritytoenactazoning plan (Utah their zoning ordinance that lists the activi- CodeAnnotated 10-9-401, 1992) andallow for ties and land uses that pose a significant countymasterplans (UCA 17-27-30 1 and l 7threatto ground-water quality. Before abuilding permit can be issued under the new ordi- 27-40 l ). Cities with more than 100,000 resinance, the county must approve the BMP dents have extraterritorial jurisdiction over their entire watersth for protecting their associated with the proposed activity. water supplies frompollution Cities withpopu- Threat ofContamination lationbetween 60,000 and 100,000 havejuris- Salt Lake City’s aquifer recharge protection (ARP) overlay district is the same as the primary recharge zone for the principal aquifer. This is the area where the principal aquifer is not confined and is susceptible to the movement of contamination from the land surface and water table. The recharge area is found along the western edge of the diction over the stream or water source for l 5 Wasatch range and the eastern edge of the miles above the point ofwithdrawal and 300 feet either side ofthegstream (UCA 10-8-15). First- and second—class cities can enact ordinancesto protectwater supply sources from pollution or contamination. Third-class cities have jurisdiction for ten miles upstream from the point ofwithdrawal for their public water supply. In 1985 the Utah Legislature enacted Oquirrh mountains. According to the US UCA 10-8-94, which. gives towns the same Geological Survey (USGS), the primary powers and authority as those grantedto cities. |