This study is an investigation of the feasibility of an aquifer storage and recovery project using the existing water supply infrastructure of the city of Millville, Utah. The project involved injecting water from a public water supply spring into a public water supply well. Geochemical analysis indicates that the major ion chemistry of the spring water is very similar to that of the principal aquifer, however, the spring water would likely cause minor geochemical changes in the groundwater due to oxidation. The study also showed that the injection well had elevated nitrate concentration which is likely due to septic systems in the area. Overall, the pilot tests showed that injection of water for storage would not be detrimental to the principal aquifer, which has significant storage abilities beyond the capacity of Millville’s water system; however elevated nitrate in the aquifer is a problem that should be addressed.

The City of Millville, located in a prime location for aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), is having issues with elevated nitrate in the Glenridge well, a public water supply sourced from the Cache Valley principal aquifer. To alleviate high nitrate, the city performed an initial injection and pumping test using the Glenridge well. Millville injected water from Garr Spring, another public water supply source of which they own water rights, into the Glenridge well for one week at a rate of 500 gallons per minute. They then pumped the well while monitoring geochemistry to determine the effects on the Cache Valley principal aquifer system. The pre-injection nitrate concentration in the Glenridge well was 7.65 mg/l nitrate as nitrogen, and the nitrate concentration after pumping more than 172% of the volume of water injected was 6.52 mg/l nitrate as nitrogen. There is likely some dispersion of the injected spring water via advection in the aquifer.

This study is an investigation of the feasibility of an aquifer storage and recovery project using the existing water supply infrastructure of the city of Millville, Utah. The project involved injecting water from a public water supply spring into a public water supply well. Geochemical analysis indicates that the major ion chemistry of the spring water is very similar to that of the principal aquifer, however, the spring water would likely cause minor geochemical changes in the groundwater due to oxidation. The study also showed that the injection well had elevated nitrate concentration which is likely due to septic systems in the area. Overall, the pilot tests showed that injection of water for storage would not be detrimental to the principal aquifer, which has significant storage abilities beyond the capacity of Millville’s water system; however elevated nitrate in the aquifer is a problem that should be addressed.

Cache County is interested in pursuing aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) programs to store excess surface water in the Cache Valley principal aquifer. The City of Millville, located in a prime location for ASR, is having issues with elevated nitrate in the Glenridge well, a public water supply sourced from the Cache Valley principal aquifer. To initiate a small-scale ASR project and alleviate high nitrate, the city performed an initial injection and pumping test using the Glenridge well. Millville injected water from Garr Spring, another public water supply source of which they own water rights, into the Glenridge well for one week at a rate of 500 gallons per minute. Garr Spring water has an average nitrate concentration of 0.8 mg/l nitrate as nitrogen (Utah Division of Drinking Water, 2014). They then pumped the well while monitoring geochemistry to determine the effects on the Cache Valley principal aquifer system. Results of the test are preliminary and show decreased nitrate values in the Glenridge well. While the increase in potentiometric surface was not precisely measured, it is likely small and widespread due to the high transmissivity of the aquifer, which was determined to be 135,000 ft2/day (12,540 m2/day).

This report (34 pages and 23 pages appendices) describes ground-water conditions in the principal basin-fill aquifer and evaluates the feasibility of aquifer storage and recovery projects in eastern Cache Valley, Utah.

During the spring of 2011, a gravel excavation site (pit) at the mouth of Green Canyon in North Logan City, Utah, was modified by the city to retain excess flow from the Green Canyon catchment. From August 2011 to March 2012, the Utah Geological Survey (UGS) monitored the flow of water into the gravel pit, and recorded gravity data and groundwater levels at several sites within a mile of the gravel pit.