Location
USU Eccles Conference Center
Event Website
http://water.usu.edu
Start Date
4-5-2016 12:00 AM
End Date
4-5-2016 12:00 AM
Description
The goal of this research is to identify how flow on the Bear River in Cache Valley has changed over the last three years and how flow changes seasonally. Identifying flows is important to manage water resources along the Bear River. We collected and processed water pressure data every 30 minutes using HOBO transducers at two sites in Cache Valley (Morton, just downstream of highway 142, and Confluence which is located at the confluence of the Bear and Cub Rivers) south of the Idaho‐Utah border in 2015. We also measured flow and water stage up to three times per year at each site using an Acoustic Doppler Current profiler and transom survey equipment. We pooled these observations with measurements and data collected by prior undergraduate Bear River Fellow researchers in 2012 and 2013 and used the observations to generate linear regression models to relate water stage to flow at each site. By applying the linear regression model to our pressure measurements, we calculated flow at each time a pressure reading was recorded for its respective location on the lower Bear River. We used the flow rates to determine that very little water is lost or gained between the USGS gage and the Morton site but that during summer months nearly 300cfs is lost between the Morton and Confluence sites. This information can help Bear River pumpers better manage their use.
Included in
Earth Sciences Commons, Environmental Engineering Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, Hydraulic Engineering Commons, Life Sciences Commons
Seasonal Flow Rates along the Lower Bear River, UT
USU Eccles Conference Center
The goal of this research is to identify how flow on the Bear River in Cache Valley has changed over the last three years and how flow changes seasonally. Identifying flows is important to manage water resources along the Bear River. We collected and processed water pressure data every 30 minutes using HOBO transducers at two sites in Cache Valley (Morton, just downstream of highway 142, and Confluence which is located at the confluence of the Bear and Cub Rivers) south of the Idaho‐Utah border in 2015. We also measured flow and water stage up to three times per year at each site using an Acoustic Doppler Current profiler and transom survey equipment. We pooled these observations with measurements and data collected by prior undergraduate Bear River Fellow researchers in 2012 and 2013 and used the observations to generate linear regression models to relate water stage to flow at each site. By applying the linear regression model to our pressure measurements, we calculated flow at each time a pressure reading was recorded for its respective location on the lower Bear River. We used the flow rates to determine that very little water is lost or gained between the USGS gage and the Morton site but that during summer months nearly 300cfs is lost between the Morton and Confluence sites. This information can help Bear River pumpers better manage their use.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/runoff/2016/2016Posters/29