Engineering Commons^™

Management Of Rural Domestic Water Systems In Utah, Trevor C. Hughes

Reports

Introduction: There are now more than 400 community type public drinking water systems in Utah. Considerable state and federal assistance is available for construction or renovation of such systems, but once the system is constructed and the consulting engineer leaves, the managers of the smaller systems find themselves quite isolated from sources of professional assistance. The larger systems have a revenue base which can provide ongoing services of a consultant or salaried engineer and well trained operators. The smaller systems, particularly low density rural systems where the length of pipeline per user is very high, usually find themselves barely able …

A Framework For Risk Analysis Of Earth Dams, Jon C. Howell, Loren R. Anderson, David S. Bowles, Ronald V. Canfield

Reports

This purpose of this thesis is to present in a logical and straightforward manner, the types of probabilistic, deterministic and judgment methods which should be part f a risk analysis process for earth dam planning, design, construction and operation. In doing this, an attempt was made to include all of the elements (components of the risk analysis procedure defined herein) which were considered to be important. Descriptions of these elements as well as how they are used to estimate probabilities for the occurrence of each of three failure conditions (i.e. no failure, partial failure, complete failure) are also presented. Explanations …

Management Of The Hydrologic System In Areas Subject To Coal Mining Activities, Rollin H. Hotchkiss, Eugene K. Israelsen, J. Paul Riley

Reports

Publicity given to the detrimental effects of mining activities on the environment has tended to overshadow somewhat the hydrologic opportunities and benfits that could be associated with these activities. For example, many areas disturbed by surface mining have proved to be excellent recharge areas for groundwater aquifers. The degree to which mine sites can be exploited to improve management of the hydrologic system depends on both the local geology and the mining techniques used. The report examines the effects of present mining activities on the associated hydrology system, and identifies specific mining procedures and management techniques which not only minimize …

A Preliminary Study On Expanding And Financing State Water Development, Daniel H. Hoggan, Kirk R. Kimball, Jay M. Bagley

Reports

The effects of recent energy price increases, domestic inflation rates, financial market fluctuations, and changing public attitudes toward federally sponsored water resource development and management have brought economic and financial consideratiosn to the forefront of Western water management issues. Recently enacted federal policies place increased responsibility on the states and localities for the development and management of their water resources. A response common to many of the western states has been to stengthen traditional, and often small, water financing and development programs. In creating and sustaining such a posture, however, state governments must address the important questions pertaining to the …

Research On Increased Winter Orographic Precipitation By Cloud Seeding (Fy 1980), Geoffrey E. Hill

Reports

This research continues the development of new instrumentation relevant to the advancement of cloud seeding technology and the analysis of data collected to better understand cloud seeding potential in winter orographic clouds. Instrumentation development included the state of construction of a NOAA type dual frequency radiometer for the continuous measurement of supercooled liquid water and the completion of an expendable balloon-borne system for measuring vertical profiles of supercooled liquid water. The analysis of data collected on the project was directed primarily at the interpretation of the vertical profiles of supercooled liquid water and vertical motion. Results indicate that sharp vertical …

Preliminary Study Of The Northern Utah Hail Suppression Project, Geoffrey E. Hill

Reports

This study represents an examination of the possibilities for evaluating the northern Utah summertime rain-enhancement hail-suppression project. This study is

User Manual For The Probabilistic Stream Simulation And Assessment Model (Pssam), Brad A. Finney, David S. Bowles, Michael P. Windham

Reports

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Mutagenicity Testing Of Extracts From Processed Oil Shale, Judith G. Dickson, V. Dean Adams

Reports

The Ames/

Groundwater Heat Pump Equipment Selection Procedures For Architects, Designers, And Contractors, Calvin G. Clyde, Edward W. Vendell, Kirk D. Hagen

Reports

Engineers at the Utah Water Research Laboratory and the Mechanical Engineering Department at Utah State University have investigated the use of groundwater heat pumps for residential space heating and cooling in the Utah climate. They have found that this type of system conserves energy and may cost less for Utah home owners to operate than many conventional heating and cooling systems. Since the use of groundwater heat pumps will probably become more widespread in the near future, building and heating contractors should become more informed about what a groundwater heat pump is and how it works. The purpse of this …

Utah Surface Impoundment Assessment Report, Mary L. Cleave, V. Dean Adams, Donald B. Porcella

Reports

Executive Summary: The Surface Impoundment Assessment process presented an organized consistent systme for evaluating potential threats to groundwater resources from surface impoundments of wastes. This assessment established a data base which locates wastes surface impoundments in Utah and assesses the majority of these impoundments with this prescribed system (Appendix F). This data base may be used to identify surface impoundments in Utah which may create problems with regard to groundwater contamination. Data Summary: The potential hazards of the surface impoundments assessed to groundwater is based on two values established during the assessment procedure. These values are identified as the pollution …

Design Of A Cost Effective Solar Powered Water Pump, Duane G. Chadwick

Reports

The design and performance of a vacuum lift, solar powered water pump is discussed. The basic design consists of an expanding gaseous piston confined inside a chamber which is located in series with, and between an inlet and an outlet check value. The gas is generated by volatilizing cyclopentane or hexane. Four variations of this basic design concept were built and evaluated. The various features of each are discussed. Considerations in the choice of a cost-effective solar collector are also reviewed. Several of the more promising types of solar collectors were built and evaluated for use on the pump. A …

Vulnerability Of Water Supply Systems To Droughts, David S. Bowles, Trevor C. Hughes, W. Robert James, Donald T. Jensen, Frank W. Haws

Reports

This summary completion report describes the project work completed in three areas: 1) the development and preliminary testing of drought severity and vulnerability indices, 2) the impacts of Utah's 1977 drought, and 3) an operation comparison of stochastic streamflow models. The drought indices were evaluated for three municipal and three irrigation water supply systems in Utah. It was concluded that a continuous loss function to define the effects of water shortage would be more appropriate than the existing assumption that drought-related lossed occur suddenly at a certain degree of water shortage. Information on the impacts of Utah's 1977 drought was …

Feasibility Study Of Establishing A Water Rights Banking/Brokering Service In Utah, Jay M. Bagley, Kirk R. Kimball, Lee Kapaloski

Reports

Changes in water use patterns are an inevitable consequence of relentless social transformations taking place. Especially where waters have been fully appropriated, the needs of a dynamic society must be met through transfers in water ownership. Yet, there are a variety of factors that may operate as impediments to the shifting of water according to social preferences as expressed through water markets. As a mechanism for facilitating water transfers, exchagnes, or rentals, the concept of "water banking" and "water brokering" may be fruitful. This repot appraises the potential for initiating and operating such a service within the legal, institutional, and …

Weather Modification By Cloud Seeding, Arnett S. Dennis

Reports

It is an understatement to say that people are confused about cloud seeding. While it has been called "the crime of the century" and outlawed in Pennsylvania, the governments of the dry, western part of the United States continue to spend tax revenues on cloud seeding to increase water supplies. During the past five years, I have talked with officials responsible for decisions regarding cloud seeding programs in about 15 states of the U.S.A., in a dozen other countries, and in the World Meteorological Organization. Some of the officials involved are experts in atmospheric physics, but most are not. Members …

Evaluation Of Livestock Runoff As A Source Of Water Pollution In Northern Utah, Stephen T. Wieneke, Dennis B. George, Daniel S. Filip, Brad Finney

Reports

A mathematical model was developed to predict the impact of dairy and beef cattle feedlot runoff on receiving streams. The mathematical expressions used in the model describing runoff quantity and quality were not only a function of single rain or snow precipitation events but also consecutive events prior to the runoff occurrence. The runoff quantity and quality were also a function of feedlot surface. Computer simualtions indicate that pollutants from feedlot runoff may have a significant impact on receiving streams during winter months. Runoff from feedlots located within the study area, however, had little impact on water quality in the …

Use Of Extreme Value Theory In Estimating Flood Peaks From Mixed Populations, Ronand V. Canfield, D. R. Olsen, R. H. Hawkins, T. L. Chen

Reports

The flood magnitude for a given frequency or return period is estimated by fitting a probability distribution to the historical annual flood series. The log-Pearson type III distribution has been selected by the Water Resources Council for general use by the federal government, but practitioners should examine an annual flood series and use alternative distributions where they will produce better estimates. Empirical goodness of fit is one criterion for choosing a distribution, but the reasonableness of the assumptions theoretically associated with the form of the distribution should also be considered. In theory, extreme-value distributions are particularly applicable to flow series …

Influence Of Unsaturated Hydraulic Properties On Infiltration From Circular Surface Areas, Abdolhossien Nassehzadeh-Tabrizi, Roland W. Jeppson

Reports

The effects and interactive effects on infiltration of parameters in the Brooks-Corey equation for defining the hydraulic properties of unsaturated soils are investigated by analyzing the results of numerical solutions of the unsaturated flow characteristics resulting from water applied on a circular surface area. The soil parameters are allowed to vary continuously as a function of depth. The parameters that have been allowed to vary separately and in pairs are: (1) The pore size distribution exponent, (2) Pb- The bubbling pressure, (3) Sr- The residual saturation, (4) n- The soil porosity and (5) Ko- The saturated hydraulic conductivity. The conclusions …

Influence Of Dredging And High Discharge On The Ecology Of Black Canyon, Larry J. Paulson, Theron G. Miller, John R. Baker, U.S. Water And Power Resources Service

Publications (WR)

The Water and Power Resources Service is considering dredging in Black Canyon to create a larger forebay to accommodate higher peak discharges and reverse flows for proposed modifications to Hoover Dam. The Black Canyon area from Hoover Dam to Willow Beach supports a heavily utilized trout fishery and is important habitat for the razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus) and possibly bonytail chub (Gila elegans). The Water and Power Resources Service initiated this investigation to determine what effect dredging and higher peak-discharges would have on the ecology of Black Canyon.

Development Of An Integrated Program Of Water Reuse In A Pulp And Paper Mill, Zafar M. Chaudhri

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Feasibility Of Change-Of-Use Of Selected State Administered Lands In Utah, Eugene K. Israelsen, Lynn H. Davis

Reports

Many acres of the state come under the jurisdiction of the State Government and are managed by the appropriate department of state government. The Division of State Lands, Department of Natural Resources of the State of Utah is responsible for the management of much of the state owned land. The Division of State Lands leases the lands to various users. Revenues from the leases are used for the support of state administered program such as education. The Division of State Lands desires to manage these lands as efficiently as possible and maximize the rents and thus increase the revenues available …

Water And Land Use Planning For Some State Lands Near Moab, Utah, Eugene K. Israelsen, Lynn H. Davis

Reports

In an attempt to apply better management principles to the control of state lands, the Division of State Lands asked for the study of two questions concerning state administered lands near Moab, Utah. The first question deals with the Moab and Spanish Valleys while the second question applies to Castle Valley some 10 miles northeast of Moab. The Mill Creek Development Project is proposed to provide additional water for agriculture and M & I use in the Moab and Spanish Valleys. The question for consideration is, "How much water from the Mill Creek Development Project Reservoir should the Division of …

The Economics Of Solar Water Heaters : A Guide For Evaluating The Cost-Effectiveness Of Active Solar Water Heating Systems In Maine, Maine Office Of Energy Resources

Maine Collection

The Economics of Solar Water Heaters : A Guide for Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness of Active Solar Water Heating Systems in Maine

State of Maine, Executive Department, Office of Energy Resources,

Augusta, Maine (July, 1979).

Contents: Section I: Introduction / Section II: Economic Method: The Life Cycle Cost Analysis / Section III: Factors Affecting the Decision to Buy / Section IV: Explanation of the Tables / Table I - Table IIIA

A Technical Focus For Documenting The Effectiveness Of The Cooperative Owrt-Institute Water Resources Research Program, L. Douglas James

Reports

For years, the cooperative water resources research program of the Office of Water Research and Technology and the water resources research institutes in the respective states has been experiencing considerable difficulty in generating agency, congressional, and user support of a sort that attracts sufficient funding to maintain a dynamic research program. Efforts to increase support have included recruiting greater interaction with research user groups, expansion of the technology transfer program, cultivation of interaction of center directors and research users with congress, shifting requests for added funding within the research program from the allotment funding given the respective states to matching …

Spectral Signature Studies For Application In Deer Census Using Remote Sensing Techniques, Maran C. Pate

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was performed to determine the spectral signatures of deer and their natural background elements for censusing purposes. Consideration was given to atmospheric transmittance, acceptable flying weather, and terrain. Possible spectral bands between 0.3 and 14.0 μm were obtained (over a pathlength of 1500 feet at an altitude of 5000 feet) based upon atmospheric transmittance using the LOWTRAN 3B computer program. They are: 0.30 - 1.33, 1.49 - 1.79, 2.00 - 2.50, 3.00 - 3.16, 3.38 - 4.10, 4.59 - 5.05, and 8.00 - 13.33 μm, for transmittance greater than 75%. Weather conditions are favorable for flying and taking …

Environmental Aspects Of The Nuclear Fuel Cycle And High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal, Robert S. Kent

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

An assessment of the environmental effects of the nuclear fuel cycle industries is discussed, reactor waste inventory and standards are presented, and the alternatives for high-level radioactive waste disposal reviewed, with particular attention being given to disposal in deep geological formations on land. One of the major concerns regarding potential impacts of the nuclear fuel cycle industries is the lack of a definite and proven method of disposal of the high-level radioactive wastes from light water moderated reactors. The problem is expected to become more pressing as the nuclear power industry and the associated radioactive waste inventories grow in the …

Lake Mead And Lake Powell Salinity Reports, Cathy Lee, Steve Gazafy

Publications (WR)

The enclosed reports were compiled for the Colorado River Water Quality Office based on salinity data for Lake Mead and Lake Powell. According to the regional director of the office, the reports are not considered "polished" documents for public distribution. However, he considers them to be "interesting, rough appraisals of general trends that may be very important In our understanding the hydro-salinity system in the Colorado River."

Impact Of Water And Soils Having High Source-Sink Potentials On Water And Salinity Management Under Irrigation In The Upper Colorado River Basin, Lyman S. Willardson, R. J. Hanks, J. J. Jurinak

Reports

Water management in irrigation projects is one potential method for reducing downstream salinity in the Colorado River. An important contribution can be made to developing more effective irrigation water management practices for water conservation and salinity control through identification and better understanding of the soil and water interactions that result in soils behaving as salt sources or as salt sinks. The interactions identified in this study were examined to determine the effects of various management alternatives on the quality and quantity of salt in subsurface return flow from irrigation projects. A soil solution chemistry model was developed to describe the …

Stochastic Analysis For Water Quality, Ronald F. Malone, David S. Bowles, William J. Grenney, Michael P. Windham

Reports

This report demonstrates the feasibility of applying stochastic techniques to linear water quality models. The Monte Carlo, First Order, and Generation of Moment Equation techniques are applied to a long term phosphorus model of Lake Washington. The effect of uncertainty of the phosphours loading term on simulated phosphous levels is analyzed. All three stochastic techniques produced the same results. The simulated concentrations of phosphorus in the water column are very responsive to uncertainty in annual phosphorus loading, the sediment concentrations relatively insensitive. The Monte Carlo technique is shown to require the most computation time of the three stochastic techniques applied. …

A Mathematical Hydrodynamic Circulation Model Of Great Salt Lake For Resource Management, Gary Z. Watters, Charles T. Kincaid

Reports

In the Great Basin region of this country, the resource which has always been of great importance is water. In Utah, the proper management of the resources of Great Salt Lake and the watersheds tributary to it, has become a topic of increasing concern. Recently, much emphasis has been placed on developing the recreational and industrial resources of Great Salt Lake. For optimum economic and social benefits from future development plans, the lake and its tributary watersheds need to be considered in terms of a single entity. In this regard, the Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL) has conducted several studies …

Algal Bioassay Study For The Dolores Project, Dominguez Project, San Miguel Project, West Divide Project, Leslie G. Terry, V. Dean Adams

Reports

No abstract provided.