Logan River Observatory Water Measurements Highlighted at Latest Research Landscapes

As concerns about water supply in the West have grown in recent years, the value of good water data has become more evident.

The latest USU Research Landscapes event, hosted Sept. 12 in Salt Lake City, featured a discussion about current water data collection efforts in northern Utah.

The presentation, titled “Measuring Utah’s Water: Lessons from the Logan River Observatory,” featured the observatory’s director, Bethany Neilson, presenting to a crowd of legislators, researchers, educators and members of the public.

“Water in the West is limited and uncertain in the face of climate change,” Neilson said. "There are many competing interests. This includes agriculture versus development versus environmental requirements.”

The Great Salt Lake, a terminal lake, also demands additional water in northern Utah, Neilson said.

Part of the challenge of managing these different interests, Neilson explained, is the limited understanding of water availability.

“We can’t manage what we don’t measure,” she said. “We really need to know where water is and how much water we have.”

Enter the Logan River Observatory. The observatory is a government-funded research center at Utah State University tasked with monitoring the Logan River and collecting data. They establish and monitor gauging stations throughout the river to collect data about water levels, quality, temperature and more.

Once the Logan River Observatory collects measurements, the small team is responsible for distributing them and educating individuals who will do additional work with the data. The observatory works with other researchers, in addition to local, state and federal agencies, to share data. The observatory is tasked with helping those entities make data-informed decisions about projects involving water.

During the presentation, Neilson showed how the observatory’s measurement efforts have clarified how water moves through a hydrologic system. She also shared numerous examples of how findings from the observatory were used to inform local leaders and to shape how decisions were made.

It takes a lot of time, effort and funding to regularly collect data the way the observatory team does.

“One of the reasons why we consistently take out our gauging stations is funding,” Neilson said. “It’s very expensive and difficult to collect data, and oftentimes we tend to think that we don’t need those data — until we do.”

Neilson concluded the presentation by highlighting a few key takeaways.

“First of all,” she said, “We need to think about how we track our water, and we need to think about it differently.”

She compared measuring water to personal finances. People are typically aware of their income, expenses, and savings accounts, which gives an understanding of how much leftover money they have to work with. Water management decisions, however, are often made with incomplete information.

She continued by emphasizing the need for continued investment. “We need to invest in data, data management, and tools to interface with data to facilitate decision-making,” she said.

Finally, Neilson reiterated the value of collecting data before it’s needed.

“We need to learn to value long-term data and maintain these data streams so we’re ready when the next thing happens, or to even deal with our current water resource availability challenges,” she said.

Those interested can view the full presentation and Q&A session on the Office of Research YouTube page.

Research Landscapes is an event series hosted by the Utah State University Office of Research and sponsored by O.C. Tanner. The series connects decision-makers across the Wasatch Front with the researchers exploring Utah’s land, water and air.

Learn more about past events and RSVP for future events at researchlandscapes.usu.edu.