Tag Archive for: geology

Utah Geological Survey

SAGA OF SNAKE VALLEY: BATTLING OVER UTAH WATER

KCSG.com

Dean Baker, a rancher and activist for the protection of water rights in west-central Utah’s Snake Valley, could become wealthy by selling his property to the Southern Nevada Water Authority. The principal communities in the Snake Valley, from north to south, are Callao, Trout Creek, Partoun, EskDale, Baker, and Garrison.

“People don’t understand me,” Baker said, referring to his refusal to sell.

What makes Baker’s property valuable is that it is a coveted water source. But after 55 years of ranching, Baker isn’t ready to give up his home or see his agriculture and livestock suffer because of underground pumping.

According to the Great Basin Water Network, the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), the water agency for Las Vegas and Henderson, Nev., proposes to pump up to 200,000 acre-feet annually from eastern Nevada and western Utah and send it through 300 miles of pipeline to support larger cities. This comes to about 65 billion gallons of water per year.

Ecologists and hydrologists estimate the water table will drop as much as 100 feet in the first 10 years of the pipeline, killing the current vegetation and wiping out the wildlife and livelihoods of the rural communities including the Snake, Spring, Cave, Dry Lake and Delamar valleys.

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Utah Geological Survey

ANCIENT OWL'S MEALS OFFER CLUES TO CLIMATE CHANGE

sltrib.com

Homestead Cave is not much to look at, a modest opening in a knoll at the north end of Utah’s Lakeside Mountains. But it has yielded a paleontological jackpot for scientists reconstructing ancient Great Basin environments thanks to owls that spit up small-animal prey in the cave for thousands of years.

The piles of regurgitated pellets drew Dave Madsen in the early 1990s to this lonely spot on the Utah Test and Training Range west of the Great Salt Lake. Then with the Utah Geological Survey, Madsen and colleagues Don Grayson and Jack Broughton hoped the bones, known as “death assemblages,” would provide a record of the plants and animals that inhabited the surrounding area over the years.

What they found was scientific pay dirt that continues to yield dividends. Three years of excavation recovered undisturbed bones layered down at least 2 meters, representing what’s been on the owls’ menu for the past 13,000 years.

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Utah Geological Survey

REPORT WARNS OF SHRINKING AQUIFER WEST OF CEDAR CITY

sltrib.com

Just as a bank account dips when withdrawals exceed deposits, so the water table in the Cedar Valley Aquifer has been dropping over the past 70 years as discharge rates have exceeded recharge, and the losses likely will continue unless measures are taken to plug the problem.

That was the conclusion of a report delivered Thursday night to a meeting of the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District in Cedar City.

The report, compiled by senior geologist William Lund and his staff with the Utah Geological Survey (UGS), was commissioned by the conservancy district in 2009 after a ground fissure nearly 4 miles long was discovered snaking through a subdivision in the city of Enoch.

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Utah Geological Survey

Keeping Zion National Park Visitors Safe from Geologic Hazards

A new geologic-hazards investigation, published by the Utah Geological Survey, could help Zion National Park (ZNP) keep its 2.5 million annual visitors safe. The results of the investigation will provide the National Park Service (NPS) with geologic-hazard information for future park management.

Zion National Park is subject to a variety of geologic hazards that may affect park development and visitor safety. “One of the nation’s scenic jewels, Zion National Park, is also home to a variety of geologic hazards. By supporting this study of geologic hazards in high-use areas of the park, the National Park Service has taken a proactive approach to protecting visitor safety,” says William Lund, UGS Senior Geologist.

The ZNP geologic-hazards study area is a 154-square-mile area that encompasses Zion Canyon, Kolob Canyon, Kolob Terrace, the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway corridor, and all developed and high-use areas of the park. This investigation includes nine 1:24,000-scale geographic information system (GIS)-based maps that show areas subject to flooding, debris flows, rock fall, landslides, surface faulting, liquefaction, collapsible and expansive rocks and soils, and/or soil piping and erosion.

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Utah Geological Survey
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Summary of 2009 Utah Mineral Released

Utah’s mineral extraction industry recorded a successful year on 2009, according to a recently released publication.

The Utah Geological Survey’s (UGS) 2009 Summary of Mineral Activity in Utah publication reveals that despite a recession induced dip from peak commodity values in 2008, Utah ranked third nationally in the value of nonfuel minerals produced in 2009, accounting for about 7% of the total value of U.S. production. Utah mines and energy companies produced a gross value of $6.97 billion in mineral and energy commodities in 2009 from oil gas (37%), base metals (31%), industrial minerals (14%), coal-uranium (9%), and precious metals (9%). All sectors suffered a dip from mid-2008, except for precious metals which expanded on higher prices.

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Utah Geological Survey

UTAH RANKED NO.3 NATIONALLY FOR MINERALS PRODUCTION

deseretnews.com

On the same day a group of lawmakers was pressed about the need to increase “mineral literacy” in Utah, a new report showed the state now ranks No. 3 in the nation for the value of non-fuel minerals produced in 2009.

Overall, Utah’s contribution was logged at 7 percent of the total value of the country’s production, according to a report issued Wednesday by the Utah Geological Survey.

It is the first time, Utah geologists believe, that the state has been able to edge out rival California, which has historically come in third behind Arizona and Nevada because of its production of industrial minerals for the construction industry.

“Because of the recession, California fell from three to four, and we moved up to three,” said Ken Krahulec, senior geologist with the Utah Geological Survey. “I would not be surprised if this was the first time ever. Historically, we are in the top 10, but I think four is as high as we have been before.”

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Utah Geological Survey

UTAHNS WARMING TO SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS

sltrib.com

nvironmentalists long have dreamed of a time when the massive coal-fired plants that generate much of the nation’s electricity will fall idle, replaced by small, nonpolluting power production on individual homes and businesses.

For a slowing growing number of Utahns that dream no longer seems so far-fetched.

When Doug Shipley of Intermountain Wind & Solar opens the power bill for his 2,400 square-foot home in Farmington, most of the time it shows he hasn’t taken any energy off of the state’s power grid during the month.

Instead, the 24 solar panels on his property — installed at a cost of approximately $24,000 — produce all the electricity his family needs.

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Utah Geological Survey

IRON COUNTY POSTPONES VOTE ON GEOLOGIC ORDINANCE

sltrib.com

The Iron County Commission was poised to vote Monday on a geologic hazard ordinance that has been in the making for about six months when Commissioner Lois Bulloch threw a wrench in the works.

Bulloch recommended that an independent group review the proposed ordinance and make recommendations.

“I’ve heard a lot of consternation over this issue and had input in letters and calls and am just not comfortable moving forward,” said Bulloch. “Sorry to drop this bomb.”

Bulloch suggested that a committee with representatives of the county’s six municipalities, a city attorney and engineers look at the ordinance line by line and make specific changes.

“This way we won’t be accused of not listening,” said Bulloch.

Bill Lund, a geologist with the Utah Geological Survey, told commissioners a review by new eyes is a good idea and recommended including an official of a city or county in Utah that has already dealt with a similar ordinance.

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Utah Geological Survey

COAL MOSTLY POWERS ELECTRICITY-HUNGRY UTAH

deseretnews.com

When some people think of electricity, it conjures up the image of Founding Father Ben Franklin flying a kite in the rain.

In today’s world, harnessing electricity is as easy as plugging into a wall outlet in a home or apartment — and you don’t have the danger of being hurt by a lightning bolt.

But where does that power come from?

According to students in Kim Rees’ fifth-grade class at the Waterford School in Sandy, the sources vary.

“It comes from the Lake Powell generators,” student Sean Frommelt said. “(The water) turns the big generators.”

“(Turbines) go around really, really fast, which creates electricity,” 11-year old Zach Abrams explained.

Natilyn Gunnell noted that electricity comes from the sun using solar panels. Hunter Sullivan said the wind is also a source of energy generation.

Not bad for a class of 10- and 11-year-olds.

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Utah Geological Survey

THE SLIDE DIVIDE

spectrum.com

A discussion that initially started out over a battle of water rights for a few individuals on Cedar Mountain as escalated to an issue t h a t could affect all of Iron County and its taxpayers.

While the county has put a six-month land use restriction  on residents of the $39 million Cedar Highland subdivision located on Cedar Mountain, developers are worried the restriction to build is affecting property values for homes in the area. Declining values in a multimillion dollar subdivision add up quickly and translate into the county having to make up the tax revenue elsewhere. That cost could fall on all property owners in Iron County.

Iron County is taking action on what could be a multi-million dollar landslide problem, but it might have come nearly 30 years too late, said Utah Geological Survey senior scientist Bill Lund. He said the county made a decision 30 years ago, in his opinion, based on “insufficient information.”

With more than 70 homes now above Cedar City in the Cedar Highlands area, Lund said he is holding his breath to see what will happen to the stability of the land in the area.  The homes have septic tanks, which have u n d e r g r o u n d water seepage, which lubricates the plates beneath the ground, Lund explained. On top of that, roads and paths that cut into the mountain also disrupt the stability of the area. Lund, who has more than 31 years of geological experience, said all of the infrastructure being built without a study becomes a cause for concern because changes on one lot can affect another.

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