Watershed Usage Fact Sheet

A 'watershed' is an area that catches rain and snow drained by a single river system. In the Salt Lake Valley, we get much of our drinking water from the Wasatch Front mountains, which are designated as "protected watershed areas." The protected watershed canyons are City Creek, Parleys, Big Cottonwood, and Little Cottonwood. Water from those canyon streams reaches valley homes within 24 hours.

City Creek Canyon

• Size: 19 square miles, 12 miles long, maximum elevation is 9,400 feet
• Contributes the 4th largest amount of drinking water to Public Utilities' service area
• Average annual water yield: 11,749 acre-feet
• Recreational areas: Memory Grove Park, the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, City Creek picnic sites the first 5 miles up the canyon, Rotary Park, and the City Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
• Recreation activities include: Picnicking, hiking, biking, jogging, walking
• Declared a Nature Preserve in 1986 for water quality and low-impact recreation preservation.

Parleys Canyon

• Size: 50 square miles; Elevation Range: 4,700 feet to 9,400 feet
  
• Contributes the third largest quantity of drinking water to the Salt Lake City system
  
• Average annual water yield is 18,131 acre-feet
  
• Recreational areas: Little Dell Reservoir, Affleck Park Campground, Mountain Dell Golf Course, Lambs Canyon Trailhead, Donner-Reed and Mormon Trails
  
• Recreational activities: Picnicking, camping, fishing, golfing, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and hunting

Big Cottonwood Canyon

• Size: 50 square miles; Elevation range: 5,000 feet to 10,500 feet
  
• Contributes the largest quantity of drinking water to the Salt Lake City system
  
• Average annual water yield is 51,238 acre-feet
  
• Recreational areas: Silver Lake Center, Brighton and Solitude ski resorts, Wasatch National Forest campgrounds
  
• Recreation activities: Skiing and snowboarding at resorts, backcountry and cross country skiing, hiking, biking, picnicking, fishing, developed and dispersed recreation
  
• Mt. Olympus and Twin Peaks Wilderness Areas located within Big Cottonwood Canyon

Little Cottonwood Canyon

• Size: 27 square miles; Elevation range: 5,200 feet to 11,200 feet
  
• Contributes the second larges quantity to the drinking water system
  
• Annual average streamflow is 46,149 acre-feet
  
• Recreational areas: Alta and Snowbird Ski Resorts, Wasatch-Cache National Forest
  
• Recreational activities: Skiing and snowboarding at resorts, backcountry and cross country skiing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, picnicking, developed and dispersed recreation use
  
• Twin Peaks and Lone Peak Wilderness Areas located in Little Cottonwood Canyon