Quality of shallow ground water in areas of recent residential and commercial development in Salt Lake Valley, Utah, 1999

Abstract

R esidential and commercial development of about 80 square miles that primarily replaced undeveloped and agricultural areas occurred in Salt Lake Valley, Utah, from 1963 to 1994. The effects of human activities on the quality of shallow ground water in the recently developed areas were studied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. The land-use study consisted of 30 monitoring wells installed and sampled in 1999 in residential/commercial areas where shallow ground water has the potential to move to a deeper public- supply aquifer. The water samples were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), trace elements, and radon. The occurrence of nitrate, pesticides, and VOCs in water sampled from these wells can serve as an indicator of water affected by human activities at land surface. This report describes the nitrate, pesticide, and VOC data collected during the study.