Water quality monitoring trip report on SW Utah parks

Kunkle, Sam

Dave Sharrow, Zion Hydrologist, spent the day with me at Bryce, to meet with Rick Wallen (Natural Resource Chief) and Kelly Cahill (Biological Tech) and also have a brief look in the field with Rick. I also discussed some park water history with Kelly Shakespear (Maintenance Foreman). The park's General Management Plan is 13 years old and Rick advised that it would not be very useful for our needs. As seen in the topographic map as well as the park brochure map, Bryce essentially follows along a N-S ridge, with about a dozen small creeks or washes originating on the park's steeper east escarpments and flowing off easterly or southeasterly. On the much gentler western slopes of the park, fewer but larger creeks flow northwesterly out of the park and into the East Fork of the Sevier River. The park has a few perennial streams, and the Tropic (irrigation) Ditch traverses the northern end of the park and affects surface water resources in the park. Several tributaries to the Paria River appear in the north end of the park, some with perennial flows (Czarnowski, 1991). Ground water flows along an aquifer and emerges as springs at points where the saturated stratum intersects the surface, for example, near the Under-the-Rim trail. Of special importance from a recreational perspective, the springs occur along the park's eastern boundary where hikers use the springs for drinking. Many of these springs have been impacted by cattle. (Naturally the park advises hikers to use chemical treatment or filtration). Marine (1963) surveyed the ground-water resources of the park, including analysis of East Creek, the major creek flowing to the northwest and the main source of park water supply. The Czarnowski report (1991) also generally reviews the area's geohydrology. A well about 60 ft deep in East Creek is the park's main water supply (at the western edge of the park, toward the Sevier River) and pumped uphill. Routine water analyses are taken on the culinary water for public health protection. We looked at the data, showing good quality water. The analyses cover the common cations, anions, nutrients, and metals, plus periodic analyses for organisms such as Giardia, the primary pollutant list, and pesticides. In the early 80's, a park volunteer sampled 15 springs for fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci (Nakashima, 1981) and found background FC's present at levels under 100 colonies/100ml. The park is not aware of Giardia in the waters. Ott (1996) conducted a basic field inventory of 33 springs in the park, evaluating pH, temperature, conductance, and TDS from on-site measurements, plus stopwatch/bucket measurements of flow. Elevations at the springs range from about 6,800 to 8,400 feet. Benham (1997) analyzed common cations, anions, nutrients, and some metals, and found cadmium, lead, and copper slightly higher than desirable from a public health perspective. He suggested additional sampling. Doremus and Kreamer (1999) analyzed the flow pattern and geochemistry for the springs, and provide some data on water quality. Some of their samples contained elevated levels of sulfate and chloride (probably mostly from geologic sources). The Dixie National Forest surrounds most of the park, and the park touches the Grand Staircase-Escalante NM boundary (BLM) along several miles on its eastern edge. As seen on the Dixie National Forest map, private land abuts about 3-4 miles of the northwestern edge of the park and about 2 miles of boundary near the town of Tropic, on the east. The park receives some impacts from outside sources, for example silt-laden water in the Tropic Ditch (Czarnowski, 1991). According to Shakespear (personal comm.), several decades in the past logging, some mining, and grazing occurred much more in the area than now, including sheep grazing, and no doubt these activities posed more impact potential.

Water quality monitoring trip report on SW Utah parks

Collections