Rachael Ritchie

Utah State University Graduate Student

Term Project

GIS in Water Resources

CEE 5440

December 5, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Provo River Restoration Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personal Goal:           I was interested in understanding how GIS was used as an aid and applied during the Provo River mitigation processes.  I focused on the restoration and recruitment of riparian vegetation along the river in regards to sediment transport and deposition in the flood plain along the river banks.

 

 

Introduction:               The Provo River Restoration Project has been in effect since 1999.  Due to extensive channelization of the Provo River (see Figure 1), and requirements for mitigation due to the Central Utah Project (a series of pipes and waterways to move water to the Wasatch Front), the restoration project aims to restore the Provo River to its original ecological state before channelization (see Figure 2).  The old channel will be vacated (filled-in) and a new channel mimicking the historic Provo River will be constructed between the Jordanelle and Deer Creek Reservoirs (See Figures 3 &4).

Leading agencies include:

 

n      Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission

n      U.S. Department of the Interior

n      Central Utah Water Conservancy District

n      Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

n      U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

n      Provo River Water Users Association

n      U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

n      U.S. Geological Survey

n      USU, BYU, ISU, UNR, & ASU for Bio. Studies

 

 

Figure 1.     Provo River 1999 – Shows extensive                                    Figure 2.     Provo River Expected in 2006 -   Shows                               

       channelization.                                                                                              highly vegetated areas around meandering

 river.           

                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                

 

Location:        The Provo River is found in the state of Utah.  It originates high in the Uinta Mountains collecting in the Jordanelle and Deer Creek Reservoirs reaching a destination of Utah Lake.  It is well known for its blue-ribbon fly-fishing.

 

 Figure 3.      Jordanelle Reservoir            Figure 4.     Deer Creek Reservoir

 

Figure 5.     Utah Dams

 

 

 

Watershed Boundaries:         The middle Provo River lies within the Upper Colorado Basin (See Figure 6).  It also lies within smaller subbasins including the Provo River/Utah Lake subbasin (See Figure 7).

 

Figure 6.       Watershed Boundaries of the Western United States

 

Figure 7.     Watersheds for Utah and CUP Watersheds

 

Reaches and Phases:             The middle Provo River was broken up into nine different reaches (See Figure 8).  Each of these reaches was modeled and studied and then phased out for actual construction of the channel.

 

Figure 8.     Map of Reaches along Provo River

 

 

Stream Mechanics:    Before analyzing the actual reaches, one must understand how a dynamic stream works.  A stream is made up of parts (See Figure 9).

 

 

 

Figure 9.     River Cross Section

 

 

                                   These parts include the actual stream, a flood plain on either side of the stream with young vegetation, and terrestrial vegetation on the outlying banks of the flood plain with older more established vegetation.   Each part of the stream plays a role in the river pattern, the ecological function and the diversity and production of the river.

                                    Riparian vegetation along the river banks in the flood plain has an important role.  During times of flooding, sediment will be eroded from the banks and as the flooding recedes, sediment is deposited.  This deposition is crucial for seed germination.  If flooding/sediment deposition occurs during the “seed window” (the time when viable seeds have been dropped), and there is adequate moisture for the new roots to grow (including the groundwater level), vegetation will grow and thrive along the flood plain.  These plants will be scoured out each time it floods and new plants will replace the previous residents. 

                                    Because flood flows in the middle Provo River can be controlled from the upstream Jordanelle Dam, modeling the river floods can be easily understood using GIS.

 

Vegetation:                 To better understand the mechanics of the riparian vegetation.  I looked at what native and non-native plants exist and how they will be affected. Studies have shown that most of the plants will not be affected by the change, however, the endangered Ute- ladies Tress which is listed as an endangered species will benefit from the increased wetlands/floodplains designed  (See Figure 10).

 

n      Cottonwood

n      Willow

n      Alder

n      Hawthorne

n      Wood’s Rose

n      Wheat Grass                                                                           

n      Brome Grasses

n      Wild Rye Grasses

n      Ute-ladies Tress

              Figure 10.     Ute-ladies Tress

 

 

 

GIS:                            A GIS model can be built using the National Hydrography Dataset to delineate the Provo River, National Water Information System to obtain stream flow information, STATSGO for soil types, National Land Use Cover Dataset for vegetation and land use surrounding the Provo River.  Once the model is built, different flows can be run to see where flooding will occur.  As the flooding recedes back into the channel, sediment is deposited.  It is expected that within these sediment deposit locations vegetation will grow and thrive.

 

 

Figure 11.     Area of study showing elevation and land cover.

 

 

Figure 12.     Soil Types in Utah around Provo River

                                                                       

 

Problems:                   Although it was assumed that vegetation would thrive in locations of flooding, not all of the vegetation is growing as expected.  This may have to do with the underground aquifer and steep canyon walls.  New plants may not have time to establish a deep enough root system before the groundwater levels drop after flooding (See Figure 11).

 

 

 

Future Work:             If pursuing this work further, I would look at the fish population and see how it has been affected.  I would also monitor stream flows and their corresponding sediment loads to see if they are increasing or decreasing over time.  Another aspect of sedimentation I would look at is the scouring movement of the meanders over time.  Looking at the scour will also aid in understanding the sediment load and the dynamics of the new river.

                                    Another future project could look at the underground aquifer and the how the river is receiving recharge.  This study would give a greater understanding of groundwater levels and how they are affecting the river as well as the vegetation that lies on its outer banks. 

 

 

Credits and Sources:             http://www.mitigationcommission.gov/prrp/prrp.html

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings/drainage/provo_river.pdf

http://www.usbr.gov

http://www.utahonthefly.com/articles/prrp/studies.htm

http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/ucdc/downloadgis/disclaim.htm

http://agrc.its.state.ut.us/agrc_sgid/sgidintro.html

 

 

Rachael Ritchie

USU Graduate Student

sl67h@cc.usu.edu

**All views and opinions do not reflect those of USU or the entities involved in the Provo River Restoration Project.