
SUMMARY: Groundwater Science for Moab and Spanish Valley
January 03, 2023YES! Canyonlands Watershed Council is a charitable organization.
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STATISTICS OF THE WATERSHED FOR MOAB-SPANISH VALLEY
- 24 million years ago - igneous intrusive plutons begin to create the La Sal Mountains.
- 1 million years ago - The collapse of a salt anticline forms Moab-Spanish Valley.
- 10,000 years ago - Humans begin to utilize this watershed.
- 12,646 feet - Highest elevation of this watershed at Mt. Mellenthin.
- Note: The tallest peak, Mt. Peale, does not drain into Moab-Spanish Valley
- 3,960 feet - Lowest elevation on this watershed at the confluence of Mill Creek and the Colorado River.
- 144 square miles - Total square miles in this watershed; Pack Creek, Mill Creek, and Grandstaff Canyon.
- 18 square miles - Total square miles of Moab-Spanisn Valley.
- 360 feet - Maximum thickness of alluvium in Moab-Spanish Valley.
- 8 inches - Annual average precipitation at City of Moab.
- 13 inches - Annual average precipitation for upper Spanish Valley.
- 35 inches - Annual average precipitation on the peaks of the La Sal Mountains (not precisely known).
- 5,401 acre-feet - total water rights for City of Moab
- 3,940 acre-feet - total water rights of Grand County Water and Sewer Service District.
- 500 acre-feet - total water rights of San Juan Spanish Valley Special Service District.
- 1,783 acre-feet - total water rights for Moab Irrigation Company.
- The above non-governmental organizations invested $9,000 for the peer review process of the groundwater study completed in 2020 by the US Geological Survey.
- Since 2021, these organizations also invested about $10,000 for water monitoring equipment: (1) a surface water gage on Upper Pack Creek; (2) two instruments that monitor the water table at wells located at Kayenta Heights.
- August, 2022 - A Plain Language Review: The Groundwater Science of Moab-Spanish Valley; 1971 to 2022. Professor Thomas Lachmar & Curriculum Vitae.
- October, 2022 - Interview with Professor Lachmar with Moab Science. Kristina Young.
- January, 2023 - Moab Sun News. Moab Science.
- Janaury, 2023 - Professor Lachmar's powerpoint presentation to Moab Area Watershed Partnership on January 18, 2023.
- January, 2023 - KZMU News. Molly Marcello.
- 2021 - The Importance of Pre-compact Water Rights in the Climate Change Era of Colorado River Water Planning. Hagen.
- 2019 - Spanish Valley/Moab Drought and Climate Workshop Report: Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS). Western Climate Assessment & Environmental Dispute Resolution Program at UofU Salt Lake City (Wallace Stegner Center).
- 1971 - Geology and water resources of the Spanish Valley area, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah. US Geological Survey. Sumsion.
- 1977 - A digital model of ground-water flow in Spanish Valley, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah. US Geological Survey. Eychaner.
- 1990 - Ground-water conditions in the Grand County area, Utah, with emphasis on the Mill Creek-Spanish Valley area. US Geological Survey. Blanchard.
- 1999 - A summary of the ground-water resources and geohydrology of Grand County, Utah. Utah Geological Survey. Eisinger et al.
- 2007 - The Hydrolgeology of Moab-Spanish Valley, Grand and San Juan Counties,Utah, with emphasis on maps for water-resource management and land-use planning. Utah Geological Survey. Lowe et al. Plates 1-12. Septic recommendation map.
- 2001 - Groundwater Availibility in Spanish Valley. Kovacs and Downs.
- USGS Study of 2019: summary, report and maps combined.
- Academic Journal Review: 2020 - Rethinking Groundwater Flow System Using Multiple Tracer Geochemical Approach: Case Study Moab-Spanish Valley. Gardner.
- University of Utah and USGS - Suggestions for Groundwater Monitoring for Moab-Spanish Valley. Gardner and Solomon.
- Graphic: The flow of groundwater. USGS.
- 2023 - USGS Monitoring Report
MOAB CITY HYDROLOGIC ASSESSMENTS
Hydrologic And Hydrogeologic Assessment (HESA)* of the surface water and groundwater resources affecting the Moab City Springs and Wells & surface water of Mill Creek and Pack Creek in Moab-Spanish Valley in Grand County and San Juan County. By Hydrologic Systems Analysis, & Heath Hydrology, contractors for Moab City.
* HESA - Hydrological and Environmental Systems Analysis involves the management, processing and interpretation of huge amounts of geoscientific as well as ecological and historical data of many different types and sources, which can only be handled coherently and efficiently by using interactive Geoscientific Information Systems (GIS).
- Phase One: 2018 - HESA-based hydrologic and environmental system analysis and conceptual models
- Phase Two: 2019 - Preliminary HESA-based water budget and aquifer storage evaluation
- Phase Three: 2020 - Proposed Updated Drinking Water Source Protection Zone Delineations & Proposed Monitoring Plan
- Phase Four: 2020 - Preliminary HESA-based water budget aquifer storage evaluation Spanish Valley and Mill Creek/ Pack Creek hydrologic systems
- 2019 - Presentation: Groundwater Monitoring North Moab-Spanish Valley
- 2020, January - Presentation: Groundwater Monitoring Central Moab-Spanish Valley
- 2020, July - Presentation: Groundwater Monitoting South Moab-Spanish Valley
- 2020, November - Current Water Rights Policy for Moab- Spanish Valley
- 2014, April - Moab-Spanish Valley Presentation for Groundwaer Monitoring Program
- Note: Court Decree for Water Right Adjudications are pending
- 2010 - Forest and Water Climate Adaptation:
A Case Study of Moab and Castle Valley, Utah. CWC. - 2019 - Spanish Valley/Moab Drought and Climate Workshop Report: Vulnerability, Consequences, and Adaptation Planning Scenarios (VCAPS). Western Climate Assessment at CU Boulder (NOAA) & Environmental Dispute Resolution Program at UofU Salt Lake City (Wallace Stegner Center).
- 2003 Investigation of the Hydrologic Connection between the Moab Mill Tailings and the Matheson Wetland Preserve. Gardner and Solomon.
- 2004 - Ecohydrology in Colorado River Riparian Forest. Pataki.
- 2004 - Environmental Tracer Investigation Matheson Preserve Moab. Gardner.
- 2004 - Evaporation Water Budget Matheson Preseve Moab. Crowley.
- 2004 - Powerpoint Presentation: Hydrologic Evaluation Matheson Wetland Preserve. University of Utah.
- 2004 - Notes: Hydrologic Investigation Scott Matheson Wetland Preserve Moab. University of Utah.
- 2001 - Hydrogeology Report of Johnson's-Up-On-Top Mesa.
- 2001- Reconnaissance study of age and recharge temperature of groundwater near Moab, Utah. University of Utah. Kip Solomon.
- 2004 - Analysis by Lance Christie of Soloman & Gardner Report
- A Look at Johnson's Up On Top. Grand County Citizens for Clean Water.
MOAB'S SOLE-SOURCE AQUIFER PROTECTION PLAN
- Geologic Data
- Color Map
- Legend: Color Map
- 2001 - Drinking Water Source Protection Plan
- 2001 - Drinking Water Source Protection Plan
- 2001 - Skakel Springs Drinking Water Source Protection Plan
- 2002 - Drinking Water Source Protection Plan
- 2008 - Letter to Moab City regarding development on aquifer recharge zones. EPA.
- 1983 - Reconnaissance of Geohydrology in Moab & Monticello, Western Paradox Basin in Grand & San Juan County Utah. Weir.
- 1991 - Geohydrology of Mesozoic rocks in the upper Colorado River basin in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, excluding the San Juan basin. US Geological Survey. Freethey et al.
- 2009 - Simulation of Ground-Water Flow and Solute Transport in the Glen Canyon Aquifer, East-Central Utah. Freethey.
- 1994 - Solution-collapse Breccia Pipes Moab & Spanish Valley. USGS.
- 2004 - Ground-water quality classification and recommended septic tank soil-absorption-system density maps, Castle Valley, Grand County, Utah. Lowe, USG. (Plates)
- 2008 - Ground-water sensitivity and vulnerability to pesticides, Moab-Spanish Valley, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah. Lowe, USG. (Plates included).
- 2012 - Review of the Hydrolgeology of the Spanish Valley Area, and Effects on Water Levels from Proposed Groundwater Withdrawals at BLM Water Right Sites. USGS
- 1996 - Recharge area and water quality of the valley-fill aquifer Castle Valley, Grand County. UGS.
- 2016 - Hydrologic Asessment of Surface and Water Resources in Castle Valley, UT; Analysis and Water Budget;Final Report Phase 1. Kolm.
- Draft: Castle Valley Groundwater Modeling. Downs.
- Final Castle Valley Groundwater Modeling. Downs.
HYDROLOGY
- Water Supply Papers for Utah
- 1946 - Cloudburst floods in Utah. Woolley. US Geological Survey.
- 2004 - Initial-Phase Investigation of Multi-Dimensional Streamflow Simulations in the Colorado River, Moab Valley, Grand County, Utah. Terry A. Kenney. US Geological Survey.
- 2006 - The Moab Mill Project. A technical report toward reclaiming uranium mill tailings along the Colorado River in Grand County, Utah. Living Rivers.
- Click here for more hydrology reports
- 1997 - Map of recharge areas for the Glen Canyon and valley-fill aquifers, Spanish Valley area, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah. US Geological Survey. Steiger et al.
- 2002 - Geologic Map of Moab-Spanish Valley. Doelling.
- 2007 - Aquifer recharge map (USG) & alternative version (USGS).
- Septic tank recommendation map
- Map: Locations of Moab aquifers and oil & gas parcels
- Publications and maps from US Geological Survey
- Publications and maps from US Geological Survey
- 2000 - Geohydrology and numerical simulation of ground-water flow in the central Virgin River basin of Iron and Washington Counties, Utah. (aquifers in Navajo Sandstone). US Geological Survey. Heilweil et al.
SOILS
GEOLOGIC HAZARDS
- 1992 - Soil and Rock Causing Engineering Problems in Utah. UGS.
- 2003 - Geologic Hazards of Moab-Spanish Valley. Plate 01; Plate 02; Plate 03; Plate 04. UGS.
HELPFUL WEBSITES
- USGS groundwater monitoring in Grand County
- Please see the following website for Moab area ground water geologic information.
- Managing aquifer recharge in order to minimize ground water decline.
- Website with considerable information on ground water conditions in Utah.
- An on-line copy of the publication Ground Water Conditions in Utah, Spring of 2009. This publication is re-published annually.
- Graphs of ground water movement over time in the Moab area. Maps showing the well locations are included.
- Utah office of the U. S. Geological Survey for specific well monitoring data.
- Ground-water source protection user's guide. Utah Disvision of Water Quality.
- Publications and maps from Utah Geologic Survey
- Utah Geologic Survey publication search engine
- Geology of Canyonlands National Park
- Publications and maps from Utah Geologic Survey
- Utah Geologic Survey publication search engine
- Geology of Canyonlands National Park
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
- Presentation: A Zoom Meeting with John Weisheit with Q & A - The Future of Water in Moab-Spanish Valley. MP4 file.

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