Application of Operations Research Techniques for Allocation of Water Resources in Utah

In this report a methodology is described for determining the optimal allocation of water supplies in the State of Utah to minimize the cost of meeting an assumed set of water requirements. A linear programming model was formulated to represent the ten interconnected hydrologic study areas of the state. The comprehensive model considers virtually all uses, areas, sources, transfers and costs of water. The model has 204 constraints and 3378 variables and was solved by the simplex method. Included in the results are the following: the optimal water allocation or the groundwater, surface water, and water transfers which minimize the cost; the shadow prices of the resources; sensitivity analyses to identify the critical cost coefficients in the optimal solution; parametric analyses to test the effects of changing constraints; and manipulations of the model to test other factors such as operating rules, legal policies, political and institutional limitations. The tabulated data were carefully condensed so as to be more easily understood. Flow diagrams and graphs summarize the important information. The work is fully documented so others can follow what was done and improve the method or apply the model to other areas

Groundwater Resources of the Virgin River Basin in Utah

The Division of Water Resources is conducting a study of further water development in the Virgin River Basin. This report examines the effects of groundwater development as a part of the overall study. The study area includes about 1000 square miles in the Central Virgin River Basin east of the Hurricane Fault. The deeply incised Virgin River has cut a youthful drainage network with deep canyons and steep escarpments and drains out of southwest Utah across Arizona to Lake Mead in Nevada. A basin-wide geologic map emphasizing groundwater features has been prepared from available reports. Outcrops of the principal sedimentary formations are shown as well as alluvial depositis, lawa flows, and other features. Groundwater in usable quantities occurs in both consilidated and unconsolidated rock formations. The pincipal consolidated aquifer is the Navajo Sandstone. Its water quality is usually excellent and large recoverable reserves are present. in recent years many wells in the Navajo Sandstone aquifer have been developed for public water supply. Groundwater resources in unconsolidated alluvial aquifers also are extensive, but in some areas may be of poor quality. Wells in alluvial aquifers have long been a major source of water especially for irrigation. Springs are natural indicators of groundwater availability while wells show where groundwater resources have been artificially developed. Maps show the locations of the 800 springs in the basin and the 700 wells. Other maps show the use (public water supply, irrigation, and other) and the growth of each kind of use. Recorded water level data are reported in two ways. Hydrographs of 29 wells have been plotted to show changes over time and groundwater contour map of parts of the basin has been prepared to show the general pattern of groundwater movement. The annual withdrawal by wells for various uses, the total annual groundwater recharge, and groundwater discharge are summarized. Groundwater quality from typical wells and srpings in the Virgin River Basin is presented by table and map. The opportunities for additional groundwater development occur mainly by the following means: Reduce evapotranspiration of groundwater by lowering water tables, reduce seepage to gaining streams and reduce flows to springs and seeps by lowering water tables (this may require transfer of surface water rights and spring rights to the groundwater), and artificially increase the recharge to the groundwater from melting snow and rain. Principal recommendations are: *Selectively increase monitoring of groundwater levels, withdrawals, and water quality from wells. *Extend groundwater contour mpas to cover more of the basin. *Study future aquifer yields under proposed development levels and aquifer management options. *Continue the cautious development of the Navajo Sandstone aquifer espeically for public water supply uses. *Initiate programs to protect the recharge (outcrop) zones of the Navajo Sandstone aquifer from pollution. *Encourage groundwater use from alluvial aquifers for irrigation particularly where the water quality is marginal for other uses. *Where groundwater is the only economic supply available and amounts are small, careful development for domestic use should continue. *Water development plans should consider both surface and groundwater supplies and pick the best mix

Further Studies of the Optimum Operation of Desalting Plants as a Supplemental Source of Firm Yield

The Operating Rule Program was developed in an earlier study to furnish a means to determine optimum desalting plant size, optimal operating rule, and costs of operating in conjunction with existing water supply systems, under the present study, five further objectives were accomplished: (1) The program was applied to a New York City water supply system feasibility study in connection with a dual purpose nuclear power plant to develop costs for adding firm yield to the New York City water supply system in conjunctive operation with the desalting plant. (2) The program was modified to enable assessment of stage construction of desalting units when used in conjunction with a natural water supply system on the basis of both constant costs over the period of analysis and inflationary costs. Techniques were developed for applying the program to determine the optimal plant module size, timing of units, and cost of the water. (3) A separate, smaller program was developed to enable analysis of desalting plant operation in conjunction with a natural water supply system having no storage capacity. (4) A training program provided instruction to a selected group designated by OSW on the detailed use and application of the Modified Operating Rule Program. (5) A feasibility study of the Norfolk, Virginia, water supply system was also carried out by applying the modified program

Guidelines for Minimizing Salinity Buildup in Groundwaters of Utah

In arid Utah practically all of the replenishable surface water supplies are nearly fully developed. At least some groundwater resources are being used in every basin. Groundwater use is expanding throughout the state and in some areas the draft is nearly equal to the sustained yield. Irrigated agriculture is the major water user. Multiple reuse of water is common in many areas, but as salinity increases with each cycle of usage, salinity also is usually the limiting factor for usefulness. Effective control of salinity buildup will permit more efficient and more extensive use of the state’s waters with potentially large benefits to irrigated agriculture. This report describes physical and chemical processes which contribute to salinity buildup and suggests methods that might be used to control it. Some areas are described where groundwater salinity is becoming a serious problem in the state. Hypothetical cases of salinity buildup are portrayed graphically to illustrate the relationship to time and the effects of the various processes. Emphasis is upon groundwater, but control of surface water salinity is also addressed as these resources are often inextricably interrelated

A Survey and Evaluation of Shallow Groundwater Contamination Hazards in the State of Utah

A survey was made to appraise current man-made contamination of shallow groundwater in Utah. Very little has been published on the subject, and most of the information was obtained by personal observation and through interviews of individuals concerned with water quality protection in Utah. After presenting the relevant physiographic, geologic, and hydrologic characteristics of the various regions of Utah and discussing how these relate to groundwater contamination in general, representative groundwater quality hazards in 32 sites or regions in Utah are presented. A very wide range of hazards to groundwater quality was found to exist. These cases cover the range of situations which need to be covered for an effective shallow groundwater pollution control program. Shallow aquifers with the largest amounts of deleterious contaminations underlie cities and towns. Agricultural areas generate greater quantities of dissolved salts and possible other contaminants, but the contamination is spread over considerably larger areas and thus is more dilute. Improper disposal of oil-field brines is a very serious problem in the state. Leaking disposal ponds, mining operations, and poorly managed solid waste dumps are serious hazards locally. Septic and other wastes from recreational activities in the state are a small but increasing hazard. By law, the State of Utah has the authority and enforcement framework to cope with thee problems of shallow groundwater contamination. More understanding, personnel, guidelines, regulations, and funding are needed to bring the protection of shallow groundwater quality into perspective with the present heavy emphasis upon surface water quality

Optimizing Conjunctive Use of Groundwater and Surface Water

Mathematical models for groundwater and surface-water systems are formulated and solved on a digital computer using linear programming for optimizing the water use of the system. Post-optimal analysis, including sensitivity analysis of the objective function coefficients and right-hand side terms, is also applied to the models. The models which are developed include a general deterministic model, a general stochastic model in which hydrologic inputs are allowed to be probabilistic, and models of two simple, but real, river basins. The advantages of linear programming analysis are demonstrated by the computer solutions which can be obtained by this method of optimization. The method is shown to be effective as a guide to optimal water resources systems design and planning

Conjunctive Water Use Planning with Water Quality Constraints in Tooele Valley, Utah

The need for more efficient water management is gaining recognition due to the increased cost of water supply, the growth in the demand for water, and greater environmental and social impacts of water programs. Conjunctive use of surfact and groundwater resources provides opportunities for increasing net benefits to the water users. Past conjunctive use studies, however, have usually not included water quality constraints. In Tooele valley, Utah, spatial variation of groundwater qualtity (total dissolved solids) is significant. The areas of good (400-500 mg/1), fair (500-1,000 mg/1), and poor (1,000-3,000 mg/1) quality groundwaters were identified in an earlier study by the USGS. The water quality dimension was incorporated into the conjunctive use planning to account for crop yield changes due to changes in salinity levels in irrigation water. The possibilities for increasing total net benefits by blending surface and groundwater of different qualities were examined by developing a linear programming optimization model. The optimization model provides for mixing the different qualities of water available for the cops to maximize benefits. It applies linear programming to the Tooele Valley water supply system and optimizes over three locations, four coprs, and five qualities of water of differing costs. The groundwater withdrawals at the locations dictated by the optimization model were input to the Tooele Valley groundwater simulation model developed by USGS to study the effects on the valley\u27s principal artesian aquifer. Economic analyses of the probable scenarios of future agricultural development in Tooele Valley did not suggest that extensive increases in groundwater with drawals will occur. Economic infeasibility of major increases in groundwater extraction is a limiting factor for agricultural development in most parts of the valley. Groundwater mining therefore does not seem like a major future problem. The areas where new wells can be drilled without interference causing technological diseconomies are indicated. Profitable application of blending technology to irrigated agriculture in Tooele Valley is not possible without making a drastic shift to some higher valued crop such as fruit trees. All surface water sources should be fully utilized before developing additional and expensive groundwater. Even though an additional 20,000 to 25,000 ac-ft of groundwater can be extracted without mining, there would be a high risk of destroying natural phreatophyte habitats and degradation of water quality in at least some parts of the artesian aquifer

Model Study of the Manifold to be Used as a Component of the Virginia Electric and Power Company, 1974 Extension of Yorktown Power Station

Introduction: This report describes the fabrication and laboratory testing of a 1/12 scale model of the 5 branch converging manifold to be installed as a component of the Virginia Electric and Power Company 1974 extension of the Yorktown power station. The design of the manifold (see Fig. 1) was supplied by Brown & Root, Inc. The geometry of Branch number 1 as shown on Fig. 1 was modified slightly from the original design after conferring with Browth & Root, Inc. in order to facilitate the fabrication of this branch of the model. In addition to the fabrication of the manifold model, facilities were constructed to carry out the testing of the model. These facilities consisted of: (1) a head box designed to force equal flow rates through all five inlet branches of the manifold (see Fig. 2), (2) five inlet pipes which convey the water from the five units in the head box to each of five branches, (3) a 20-foot long 14 inch inside diameter pipe which conveyed the discharge from the manifold, and (4) a discharge box with means for controlling the downstream head by means of two gates, one of which closes the discharge pipe and the other controls the water level in the box. The test facilities were located in the hydraulic laboratory of the Utah Water Research Laboratory taking the water supply from one of the 16 inch main supply lines and discharging the flow into a 3-foot wide channel in the floor of the hydraulic laboratory which conveys the water to the weighing tanks for accurate flow rate determinations. The photographs on Fig. 3 show the manifold model, the test facilities and their layout

Groundwater Heat Pump: An Efficient Way to Heat and Cool Your Home

Engineers at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and the Mechanical Engineering Department at Utah State University have looked into the evonomic feasibility of groundwater heat pumps for residential heating and cooling in the Utah climate. They have found that this type of system conserves evergy and may cost less than conventional heating systems. By using a heat pump, thermal energy can be taken from goundwater and can be used to heat homes in the winder and cool them in the summer. If you are a Utah homeowner in an area where the goundwater heat pump system is economical, you may wish to take advantage of groundwater as an abundant (and often overlooked) indirect source of solar energy