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Show present water quality inflows. Prior to 1965 raw sewage from Salt Lake City was discharged into the Jordan River and carried into the bay. Since 1965 the water quality of the Jordan River has been improved but the river still transports a significant amount of pollution into the bay. Additional problems were created by the construction of the Salt Lake Sewage Canal which discharges into the bay. As a result, bottom sediments are high in unstabilized organic materials. The range of potential impacts of the organic layer, other pollutants in the bay, and the pollutants presently carried into the bay have not been defined. Planning the future use of Farmington Bay requires that the interactions between proposed uses of the bay and the physical system, especially water quality, be addressed. Thus, the desire for particular uses of the bay must be identified along with the physical system characteristics which are necessary for those uses. Associated research must be conducted on the physical system to identify present characteristics; such as water quality, salinity, and elevation; and to gain insight into how these characteristics might change in the future. This will allow the extent of conflicts between aesired and actual system characteristics to be assessed. The desire to accommodate a particular social use may lead to additional research if conflicts between desired and actual system characteristics exist and it appears to the decision- maker that altering the physical system will eliminate the conflict. The understanding of the physical system will allow the feasibility of altering the physical system to accommodate particular uses to be tested and the impact of altering the system on social uses of the bay and the lake to be assessed. While potential conflicts cannot be assessed until the physical system and social uses of the system are defined, discussing suggested uses of the system will emphasize the need for research on both the physical and social use system. Farmington Bay provides a good example of the importance of timing and coordination between research on the physical system and social uses of the system. An example of research timing using Farmington Bay is given in a later section of this chapter. Social Use Systems Recreation and wildlife have been suggested as potential uses of Farmington Bay. A research need is to identify any other potential uses of the bay. The Great Salt Lake State Park provides access to the bay and is a natural hub for proposed recreational development. Salt water recreational activities can be accommodated from the north and west portions of the park. With adequate opportunities for salt water recreation coupled with the tendency of the bay to freshen, Farmington Bay has been suggested as a possible area for freshwater sports. Research needs related to the potential recreational uses of the bay deal with identifying the recreational opportunities and associated facilities desired by potential users of the bay and the use intensities which would result if the facilities and conductive environmental conditions were provided. The Institute for the Study of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism is currently conducting a survey concerning the state park on Antelope Island which identifies development desires. A study of this type should be conducted to identify the public's desire for fresh water or other types of recreational activities on Farmington Bay. Power boating, water skiing, sail boating, and swimming are the main activities associated with freshwater recreation. Swimming, no matter what the salinity of the water, requires a situation with a low health hazard from pathogenic organisms, algae concentrations low enough not be objectionable, minimum odor problems, and the control of noxious insects. Power boating would require the salinity level of the bay to be below a concentration which would damage motors. Predicting the probability of the bay being below a specific concentration requires an understanding of the present water and salinity balance of the bay. Both water skiing and power boating could be curtailed if an over- abundance of algae, floating debris, or noxious odors persisted in the bay. Because of the shallow nature of the bay, power boating could impact on the physical system by disturbing the benthic deposits which would add to the unstablized organic load of the water. This could result in the development of anaerobic conditions and associated odor problems. Freshening of Farmington Bay is not a factor in the use of the bay for sail boating. However, algae, floating debris, and noxious odors would have to be considered undesirable system characteristics for this use. In addition, even at the present higher than average water- levels, mud bars and shallow water depths in the bay are a problem for power boats. In this respect, sail boating would be even more difficult than power- boating and the problem would be worse at lower water levels. The physical system of Farmington Bay could also have an impact on recreational development around the lake. The production of noxious odors or noxious insects in the bay could detract from the recreational value of the state park on Antelope Island and perhaps even the south shore area. Thus, physical system characteristics desirable for the recreational uses include; a low health hazard from pathogenic organisms, low algae concentrations, 48 |