Water resources essay

The Wasatch front comprises of Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, and Weber Counties. It is home to 75. 8% of the total population in the state, and 72. 4% of the state’s housing units. Salt lake valley is also known as the Jordan valley because of the Jordan river, which flows northwards into the valley through the Jordan narrows, the Salt Lake valley flows into the Transverse mountains and ultimately to the lake. The valley has other six streams flowing from the Wasatch Range to the east, and to River Jordan. The Salt Lake valley is a half-graben as it is bounded by faults on its west, east and south sides.
The basin-fill aquifer in the valley includes deep unconfined aquifer between the mountains and confined aquifer, a confined aquifer in the northern and central parts of the basin, unconfined perched aquifer, and a shallow confined aquifer that overlies the artesian. Together, the deep unconfined aquifer and the confined aquifer form the ‘ principal aquifer. Most of the water discharged from the wells in the valley originates from the principal aquifer.
The growing population in the Wasatch front significantly threatens the water supply along the front. The usage of has increased as a result of increased industrial, agricultural, and housing needs. Additionally, most of the wells that have been filled up in efforts of creating land for housing needs. In addition to the natural deposition of sediments into the valley, there has been an increase in sediments that result from human activities, and this threatens the water levels and the depth of the aquifer. Human activities have also increased rates of water contamination through pollution and discharge released into the tributaries of the resource.