Estimating Water Yields in Utah by Principal Component Analysis

The basic hydrologic data required to determine the water yield are usually unavailable for small basins and streams while increasing emphasis is being placed on their development. Therefore, some methods and techniques for estimating the amount of water available for development of these small units is needed. The purpose of this study is to use the concepts and techniques of statistical analysis to develop equations which are useful in estimating the water yield of watersheds for which no stream flow records are available. The approach is an extension of earlier studies at Utah State University (1, 10) in which physiographic and topographic parameters were related to mean annual runoff of Utah watersheds. Previous studies used multiple regression techniques primarily. The work reported herein utilizes the same data as in the earlier work but analysis is based on the multivariate technique of principal component analysis. Results and evaluations derived from the principal component analysis are compared with those obtained from multiple regression analysis

Hydrologic Inventory of the Weber River Study Unit

The 1963 Utah State Legislature authorized the Utah Water and Power Board (now the Utah Division of Water Resources) to develop a state water plan in order to give coordination and direction to the activities of all state and federal agencies concerned with Utah\u27s water resources. To facilitate the development of this plan, a proposal was submitted through the State Planning Coordinator in the Governor\u27s Office to the Urban Renewal Administration of the Housing and Home Finance Agency. Funding was approved effective May 19, 1966, under the Urban Planning Assistance Program authorized by Section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954, as amended. Matching funds for the necessary land use and hydrologic investigations have been provided by the Utah Division of Water Resources and the Utah Water Research Laboratory. A better understanding of the state\u27s water resources, the way in which the water resources are being used, and the opportunities for further water conservation is an essential foundation in the development of a water plan. This understanding can be obtained only by careful study of each stream basin using recognized hydrologic techniques. Such a study must be designed to account for the water which appears as runoff, to isolate opportunities for improvement in water management, and to indicate opportunities for increasing the effective supply by eliminating nonproductive uses. Water planning must be based upon a reasonably good appraisal of the water supply and its quality at points within the system. In addition, since any proposed change in the place or type of water use will have an effect upon the total hydrologic system this effect must be appraised before any possible development plan can be recommended

Development of Procedures to Evaluate Salinity Management Strategies in Irrigation Return Flows

The salinity added irrigation return flows is a major problem in rivers draining agricultural lands throughout the arid regions of the world, and many irrigation water management alternatives have been proposed for reducing downstream salinity problems. The merits of these alternatives, however, can only be judged from reliable information on their actual effects on the salinity in rivers receiving the drainage water and the water withdrawn from the river by downstream users. Hydrosalinity models are widely used to estimate these effects to guide the selection of a policy on management of irrigation return flows. The purpose of this research was to assess the state-of-the-art of hydrosalinity modeling in order to develop a practical management tool for predicting how the salt outflow from irrigated agriculture is affected by various farm management practices. A review of the state-of-the-art of hydrosalinity models identified one of the major gaps in modeling as inadequate understanding and representation of the quantity and quality interrelationships between surface water, drainage water, and groundwater. Most models predict relatively constant levels of salinity over time in surface drains during the irrigation season and an increase in concentration in similar drains at other locations during the nonirrigation season. The study also identified taht a site specific equilibrium threshold conentration (TC) of dissolved solids can be adequately estimated and represented in a model. Salt concentration above the TC would result in precipitation of salts within the soil profile. Higher TC values would, however, exist in the unsaturated soil. Based on these new concepts, salinity in the return flows was modeled as a composite of individual component outflows from the unsaturated zones and the saturated groundwater zone, and represents the interrelationships among surface water, drainage water, and groundwater. The model termed BSAM-SALT was tested using field data from irrigated areas in Grand Valley, Colorado, and the Circleville sub-basin of the Sevier River Basin in Utah. A set of managment runs was made to demonstrate the utility of the model in predicting the salt loading caused by irrigated agriculture in the Grand Valley, Colorado, area

Runoff Estimates for Small Rural Watersheds and Development of a Sound Design method. Volume II, Recommendations for Preparing Design Manuals and Appendices B, C, D, E, F, G, & H

Frequency analyses of more than 1,000 small watersheds in the United States and Puerto Rico were used to develop the estimation method for design of peak flow for ungaged watersheds. This method, called the Federal highway Administration (FHWA) method, is conceptually similar to the Bureau of Public Roads (BRP) method developed by W. D. Potter. The FHWA method relates the runoff peak to easily determined hydrophysiographic parameters and is intended for use on watersheds smaller than 50 square miles. The concept of risk is incorporated inot the design procedure. The risk is the probability that one or more events will exceed a specific peak flow within the usable lifetime of the drainage structure. The return period of the design flood peak can then be modified according to the risk the designer is willing to take. Another concept dealing with the probable maximum runoff peak derived as a function of watershed area is included. The flow obtained from this relationship is considered to be the upper limit of the design flow that may realistically be expected to ever occur. As such it may be appropriate to use in situations where the consequences of failure are extremely great

Runoff Estimates for Small Rural Watersheds and Development of a Sound Design Method: Volume I. Research Report

Foreword: This report is composed of thee volumes; Volume I is the Research Report; Volume II consists of recommendations for establishing design manuals and Appendices B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, which are the design aids required for establishing design manuals; Volume III consists of Appendix A, and accumulation of the data base used in the study, FHWA chose to arrange the report as described to facilitate distribution of the results. The methods reported herein are designated as the Federal Highway Administration Methods are designed to be applied to watersheds smaller than 50 square miles but may be used on areas up to 100 square miles in size. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. Sufficient copies of Volumes I and II will be distributed to provide a minimum of one copy to each FHWA Regional office, FHWA Dibision office and State Highway Agency. Volume III will be distributed only upon special requirest since it will be of interest primarily to individuals wishing to verify equations of develop new questions. Direct distribution is being made to the Division offices

Consumptive Use and Water Requirements for Utah

Foreword: Studies on the meteorological determinants of evapotranspiration were initiated at least as long ago as the 1920s and by the late 1940s had produced the Blaney-Criddle method for estimating crop consumptive use. The resulting ability to estimate water requirements by both location and crop added a new scientific dimension to water rights administration that was first introduced into the courts of Utah during adjudication of water rights in the Escalante Valley in 1949. Application of the consumptive use concept to water rights administration and water resources planning, however, required a wirtten reference. Technical Publication No. 8 entitled Consumptive Use of Water and Irrigation Requirements of Crops in Utah was published by the State Engineer in 1952. By 1962, methods had been developed for going beyond agriculture to estimate water requirements for municipal, industrial, and recreational uses. Technical Publication No. 8 was revised and published under the title Consumptive Use and Water Requirements for Utah. Continuing advancements in water requirements estimation have occurred over the last 20 years. The present revision, Technical Publication No. 75, updates estimatino of agricultural, municipal, recreational, and industrial water uses. It presents an isogram of potential consumptive use that permits the determination of crop water requirements at any point within the state

A Hydrologic Model of the Bear River Basin

As demands upon available water supplies increase, there is an accompanying increase in the need to assess downstream consequences resulting from changes at specific locations within a hydrologic system. The problem is approached in this study by hybrid computer simulation of the hydrologic system. Modeling concepts are based upon the development of basic relationships which describe the various hydrologic processes. Within a system these relationships are linked by the continuity-of-mass priciple which requires a hydrologic balance at all points. Spatial resolution is achieved by considering the modeled areas as a series of subbasins. The time increment adopted for the model is one month, so taht time varying quantities are expressed in terms of mean monthly values. The model is general in nature and in applied to a partifular hydrologic system through a programmed verification procedure whereby model coefficients are evaluated for the particular system. In this study the model was synthesized on a hybrid computer and applied to the Bear River basin of western Wyoming, southern Idaho, and northern Utah. Comparisons between observed and comptued outflow hydrographs for each subbasin are shown. The utility of the model for predicting the effects of various possible water resources management alternatives is demonstrated for the number 1, or Evanston subbasin. The hybrid computer is very efficient for model development, and the verified model can be readily programmed on the all-digital computer

Runoff Estimates for Small Rural Watersheds and Development of a Sound Design Method: Volume III. Appendix A

Foreword: This report is composed of thee volumes; Volume I is the Research Report; Volume II consists of recommendations for establishing design manuals and Appendices B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, which are the design aids required for establishing design manuals; Volume III consists of Appendix A, and accumulation of the data base used in the study, FHWA chose to arrange the report as described to facilitate distribution of the results. The methods reported herein are designated as the Federal Highway Administration Methods are designed to be applied to watersheds smaller than 50 square miles but may be used on areas up to 100 square miles in size. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. Sufficient copies of Volumes I and II will be distributed to provide a minimum of one copy to each FHWA Regional office, FHWA Dibision office and State Highway Agency. Volume III will be distributed only upon special requirest since it will be of interest primarily to individuals wishing to verify equations of develop new questions. Direct distribution is being made to the Division offices