Some Utah Water Week statistics:

Number of monitoring events/sites: 53

Thank you, UWW volunteers and congratulations to our Volunteer Water Week volunteer - Hillel Brandes!

Continue below to find mapped data. Open the link to the map, click the "content" on the left side of the screen and make sure only the information you want to view is checked (temperature, ph or turbidity).  

Water Temperature

Protecting stream and lake water temperature is important for the health of organisms living in the water.

The average water temperature for all sites was 12.9 ^oC, similar to last year.  The coldest temperature was 1.3 ^oC at Willow Creek, which is up at high elevation in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  The warmest temperature of 20.3 ^oC  was again at Steed Pond which is a small pond in the valley. These extreme temperature differences can be attributed to elevation and location.  Lakes may heat up more quickly because they have a large surface area to absorb solar radiation.  Stream and lake temperature can be significantly affected by diverting water for irrigation, homes and other uses.

To learn more about water temperature, visit to the temperature information page.

For an interactive map, click here and "check" the temperature layer. 

Stream Dissolved Oxygen

Dissolved oxygen is critical for aquatic life. 

Average dissolved oxygen was 8.2 mg/L.  When levels drop below 6mg/L it may be harmful for certain sensitive aquatic organisms.  The lowest pH reading was 5.5 mg/L in a tributary to East Canyon Creek and the highest was 12mg/L in the Jordan River.  

It may be surprising that the Jordan had high levels, since it is impaired for low levels. However, if there are much plants/algae present, the levels may increase during the afternoon when the plants are photosynthesising.

 

To learn more, visit the dissolved oxygen page.

For an interactive map, click here and "check" the dissolved oxygen layer. 

pH
A healthy pH range in Utah is 6.5-9. When waters become too acidic, it may harm the aquatic life and may affect other water chemistry. The average pH of all the lakes and streams was 7.4. The lowest pH this week was 5.5 in Willow Creek and the highest at 8.8 in Pack Creek near Moab. 

 

To learn more, visit the pH page.

For an interactive map, click here and "check" the pH layer. 

Stream Turbidity

The hightest stream turbidity during water week was the Jordan River, which had a measurement of 9 cm in the turbidity tube. Water week is held in the spring, typically during spring runoff.  Spring runoff was mild this year and the average turbidity level was 49cm, with many in the >60cm range.  

To learn more, visit the turbidity page.

For an interactive map, click here and "check" the Turbidity layer.