Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2003UT29B

Source Water Protection Assessment Tools Development

Institute: Utah
Year Established: 2003 Start Date: 2003-03-01 End Date: 2004-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $56,509 Total Non-Federal Funds: $112,352

Principal Investigators: Ron Sims, Darwin Sorensen

Project Summary: A computer-based tool to assist in determining the susceptibility of drinking water sources to contamination is being developed. The tool improves the use of scientific information and professional experience in the susceptibility assessment process. The work proposed here is a continuation of a research project addressing this topic. Considerable progress has been made in designing and programming the assessment tool. Specific practical objectives are to: 1) Complete the integration of shallow or unconfined ground water pollutant transport simulation with the existing surface water transport model to provide an estimate of conjunctive pollution potential. 2) Develop and implement an approach to expressing uncertainty in the pollution concentrations developed with the predictive tool. 3) Conduct a one-day workshop for drinking water source managers in Utah and the intermountain region. The assessment tool will be introduced, basic instruction on the concepts and processes used to develop the tool will be presented, and hands-on practice in the use of the tool will be facilitated.