Analyses of 2005 Data on Wetland Biota and Water Quality in Farmington Bay, Great Salt Lake, Utah
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Resource ID
8359
Resource Type
Document
UGS Program
Wetlands
Title
Analyses of 2005 Data on Wetland Biota and Water Quality in Farmington Bay, Great Salt Lake, Utah
Author
Sharook Madon
Date
November 29 2006
Country
USA
Document Type
Memorandum
Original Filename
WTLND0050.pdf
Geotechnical Database
Not Included
Abstract / Description
An integral part of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem, the Farmington Bay wetlands are valued as important feeding and nesting areas for migratory birds and for support of aquatic life and various recreational activities. The construction of a causeway in 1969 subsequently
reduced natural mixing between Farmington Bay and the Great Salt Lake, often causing nutrients to remain concentrated in Farmington Bay. In recent years, there has also been growing concern among natural resource agencies and local stakeholders about the effects
of nutrient loads from publicly-owned treatment works (POTWs) and other natural and anthropogenic sources on the assimilative capacity of the Farmington Bay wetlands. In response to these concerns, the Utah Division of Water Quality began a program in 2004 to characterize the wetland ecosystems of Farmington Bay.
The ongoing program includes intensive sampling of multiple wetlands sites that represent a cross-section of the different wetland ecosystems along Farmington Bay. The first year of sampling to characterize water quality, wetland soils, plants and macroinvertebrates along Farmington Bay was completed in 2004 and included sites that received sheet-flow hydrology and impounded wetlands. The results of the 2004 survey were described in a draft technical memorandum (CH2M HILL 2005, Appendix A) and provided a preliminary evaluation of the ecological relationships and patterns between key biological and water quality parameters. Additionally, the 2004 results also offered useful insights into potential metrics that may be useful in evaluating wetland function in relation to changes in water
quality.
All of the sheetflow and impounded wetland sites sampled in 2004 were subsequently sampled multiple times between June and November of 2005 to assess wetland plants and macroinvertebrates in relation to water quality. This technical memorandum describes the
analyses and results of the wetland plant and macroinvertebrate data collected from Farmington Bay in 2005, and reflects the second year of a 3-year effort aimed at characterizing the wetlands of Farmington Bay.
Marker lat / long: 41.052267, -112.144764 (WGS84)