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Show INTRODUCTION This report on the water resources of the Heber- Kamas- Park City area was prepared by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water Rights. The primary purpose of the report is to provide the Division of Water Rights with the basic hydrologic information needed for the effective administration of water rights in the area. The study on which this report is based was an overall evaluation of the water resources of the Heber- Kamas- Park City area, and it was made during the period July 1966- December 1968. Principal emphasis in the study was on ground- water resources, because the surface water of the area is fully appropriated, and water for expanded future needs will have to be derived from ground- water sources. The primary purposes of the study were to determine the quantity and quality of ground water available in the area, to determine the relation of ground water to surface water in the area, and to estimate the effects of increased ground- water withdrawals on streamflow from the area. This report describes the general surface- water hydrology of the study area, evaluates the quantity and quality of ground water available from the several aquifers, and discusses the relationship of ground water to surface water in the area. The basic data on which the interpretations and conclusions in this report are based are included in tables 3- 7 in the appendix; the data consist of selected data available for the period prior to July 1966 and of field data gathered from July 1966 to September 1968. A short report by D. L. Peterson, describing the results of geophysical studies in part of the project area, is included in the appendix. Description of the area The Heber- Kamas- Park City area lies between the Uinta Mountains and the Wasatch Range in Summit and Wasatch Counties, north- central Utah ( fig. 1). It includes four mountain valleys- Heber Valley, Rhodes Valley, Parleys Park, and Round Valley- and most of the surrounding drainage area. Although the study area includes about 810 square miles, this study was most concerned with the availability of water in the four valleys ( total area about 140 square miles), for it is in the valleys that the population is concentrated and the demand for water is greatest. About 87 percent of the estimated 8,650 people ( 1960 census) in the area live in the 16 communities in the valleys, but most of the population are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Dairy farming is the principal source of income in the region, followed by the raising of sheep and beef cattle. The mountains surrounding the valleys furnish summer pasture for livestock, and the irrigated land in the valleys supplies the necessary winter feed. Park City was once the center of a major lead- and silver- mining district, but only two mines in the area were being worked in 1968. Recreational development ( for skiing, fishing, and the like) is an increasing contributor to the economy of the area. The area is approximately bisected by a drainage divide; the northern part, including Parleys Park and most of Rhodes Valley, is drained by the Weber River, and the southern part, including Heber Valley and Round Valley, is drained by the Provo River. These major streams both have their beginnings in the western Uinta Mountains, and both are part of the Great Basin drainage system; the Weber flows north and west to Great Salt Lake, and the Provo flows south and west to Utah Lake. 3 |