Utah State Water Plan: West Desert Basin (SWP-11)

By: Division of Water Resources

The West Desert Basin is located in the northwest corner of the state and extends along the Nevada state line, into the southern portion of the state. It is bounded to the east by the Bear River Basin, the Weber River Basin, the Jordan River Basin, the Utah Lake Basin, the Sevier River Basin and to the south by the Cedar/Beaver Basin. Included in this report is the Columbia River Basin, 393 square miles in the extreme northwest corner of the state which drains via Goose Creek north and into the Snake River.

The West Desert Basin consists primarily of broad arid valleys separated and bounded by a series of mountainous regions. These mountains serve as catchment areas for precipitation in the form of snow in the winter and rain at other times of the year, providing the desert valleys with intermittent and ephemeral streams. Although many streams flow perennially in the mountain canyons, only a few flow year round once they reach the desert valley. Several agricultural communities have developed and even flourished in the desert valley environments through prudent use of the limited groundwater and surface water supplies.

This State Water Plan provides a foundation and direction to plan for and encourage the best use of its water resources. The purpose of this plan is to identify potential conservation and development measures and projects and to describe alternatives to alleviate the problems, needs and demands of the local people.

Other Information:
Published: 2002
Location: Beaver County, Box Elder County, Iron County, Juab County,Millard County, and Tooele County
Media Type: Paper Publication