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Utah Water Science Center

Welcome to the USGS Utah Water Science Center webpage. We collaborate with many partners to monitor, assess, conduct targeted research, and deliver information on a wide range of water resources. Explore some of our work through these pages. 

News

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Saline Lakes Stakeholder Workshop Meeting Materials

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New one-stop shop webpage for all things Great Salt Lake

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Great Salt Lake Level Falls Below Historic Low Measured in October 2021

Publications

Quantifying stream-loss recovery in a spring using dual-tracer injections in the Snake Creek drainage, Great Basin National Park, Nevada, USA

Simultaneous short-pulse injections of two tracers (sodium bromide [Br–] and fluorescein dye) were made in a losing reach of Snake Creek in Great Basin National Park, Nevada, USA, to evaluate the quantity of stream loss through permeable carbonates that resurfaces at a spring approximately 10 km down drainage. A revised hydrogeologic cross section for a possible flow path of the infiltrated Snake
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C. Eric Humphrey, Philip M. Gardner, Lawrence E. Spangler, Nora C. Nelson, Laura Toran, D. Kip Solomon

A review of current capabilities and science gaps in water supply data, modeling, and trends for water availability assessments in the Upper Colorado River Basin

The Colorado River is a critical water resource in the southwestern United States, supplying drinking water for 40 million people in the region and water for irrigation of 2.2 million hectares of land. Extended drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCOL) and the prospect of a warmer climate in the future pose water availability challenges for those charged with managing the river. Limited wat
Authors
Fred D. Tillman, Natalie K. Day, Matthew P. Miller, Olivia L. Miller, Christine Rumsey, Daniel Wise, Patrick Cullen Longley, Morgan C. McDonnell

Tracking geomorphic changes after suburban development with a high density of green stormwater infrastructure practices in Montgomery County, Maryland

Stream morphology is affected by changes on the surrounding landscape. Understanding the effects of urbanization on stream morphology is a critical factor for land managers to maintain and improve vulnerable stream corridors in urbanizing landscapes. Stormwater practices are used in urban landscapes to manage runoff volumes and peak flows, potentially mitigating alterations to the flow regime that
Authors
Brianna Williams, Kristina G. Hopkins, Marina Metes, Daniel Jones, Stephanie Gordon, William Bradley Hamilton

Science

Actionable Science

The Colorado River Basin Pilot Project is exploring new approaches for the USGS to answer complex earth systems questions identified in partnership with stakeholders, which cannot be answered through a single discipline approach. Science coproduction is a method where scientists, managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders first identify specific decisions to be informed by science, and then...
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Actionable Science

The Colorado River Basin Pilot Project is exploring new approaches for the USGS to answer complex earth systems questions identified in partnership with stakeholders, which cannot be answered through a single discipline approach. Science coproduction is a method where scientists, managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders first identify specific decisions to be informed by science, and then...
Learn More

Integrated Science Approach

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise...
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Integrated Science Approach

The USGS has a long history of delivering science and tools to help decision-makers manage and mitigate effects of drought. The timing is critical for the USGS to consolidate its diverse expertise into a single landscape-scale effort to rapidly provide integrated transdisciplinary, targeted data, tools, and models required by decision makers in the Basin. This initiative unifies USGS expertise...
Learn More

New study confirms loss of storage capacity in Lake Powell

Beginning in 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, completed topobathymetric surveys of Lake Powell for the first update of elevation-area-capacity relationships since 1986. The recent report presents results of these surveys and comparisons with estimates from previous surveys. Current storage capacity at full pool (3702.91 feet above NAVD 88) is 25,160...
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New study confirms loss of storage capacity in Lake Powell

Beginning in 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, completed topobathymetric surveys of Lake Powell for the first update of elevation-area-capacity relationships since 1986. The recent report presents results of these surveys and comparisons with estimates from previous surveys. Current storage capacity at full pool (3702.91 feet above NAVD 88) is 25,160...
Learn More