Hydrologic Study of Lower LaVerkin Creek and Smith Creek Wild and Scenic Rivers, Utah

BLM Technical Note 461

In 2022 and 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Park Service performed a hydrologic study of LaVerkin Creek and Smith Creek Wild and Scenic Rivers in southwestern Utah. The BLM is responsible for protecting the free-flowing conditions, water quality, and outstandingly remarkable values of BLM-administered wild and scenic river segments. This technical note provides a summary of the study, which is intended to inform BLM decision-making processes pertaining to the protection and enhancement of river-related values, including supporting the administration of water rights and implementation of the Clean Water Act. Field and other analyses in the study include streamflow measurements; water quality, geochemical, and stable isotopic analyses; and estimates of water level responses and streamflow depletion by groundwater pumping wells. These analyses demonstrate that the subject rivers may be vulnerable to streamflow depletions if surface water is diverted or impounded or if groundwater is withdrawn nearby. Such depletions could degrade the outstandingly remarkable values of LaVerkin and Smith Creeks or have an adverse effect on the free-flowing condition of the designated river segments.