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Ownership of Mine‐Tunnel Discharge
Author(s) -
Parry W.T.,
Forster Craig B.,
Solomon D. Kip,
James Laurence P.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2000.tb00240.x
Subject(s) - geology , groundwater , subsurface flow , hydrology (agriculture) , outflow , sedimentary rock , water flow , water tunnel , flow (mathematics) , hydraulic conductivity , groundwater flow , range (aeronautics) , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , soil water , aquifer , geochemistry , soil science , oceanography , meteorology , geography , engineering , geometry , mathematics , aerospace engineering , vortex
Water discharging from numerous tunnels constructed during mining in the Wasatch Mountains near Salt Lake City, Utah, flows into nearby creeks. Disputes over ownership of water feeding the creeks have resulted in extensive litigation. In the course of a legal dispute over ownership of outflow from the Kentucky‐Utah (K‐U) Tunnel we evaluated the patterns and rates of ground water flow using an integrated study of the geology, chemistry, isotopes, and chlorofluorohydrocarbon (CFC) composition of the water. A sequence of sedimentary rocks with a range of hydraulic conductivity values has been folded, faulted, intruded by igneous rocks, and then eroded to create the rough topography of the Wasatch Mountains. The similarity of composition among tunnel discharge, springs, and base flow in the creek indicates that the creek is fed by ground water circulating in local, shallow flow systems. Results of numerical simulations of ground water flow indicate that the K‐U Tunnel likely intercepts ground water that, in the absence of the tunnel, would ultimately flow in the subsurface to Big Cottonwood Creek. CFC and tritium contents of the water indicate flow weighted average ground water travel times range from four to 23 years and support our conclusion that water discharging from the tunnel is moving within a shallow ground water flow system. Despite sparse data, the scientific understanding was deemed sufficient for the judge to rule that owners of the surface water also own the tunnel discharge because, in the absence of the tunnel, this water would supply the stream.