Evaluating the Severity of 2021 Drought at a Local Water Resource in Utah

This resource provides the results of exploring the streamflow data of a local water gage to evaluate the severity of 2021 drought conditions on local water resources. More specifically, the site of interest is at Blacksmith Fork AB UP and L Co.’s Dam NR Hyrum, Utah. The site number is 10113500 located within Cache County Utah and Hydrologic Unit 16010203. The site has a drainage area of 263 square miles and a datum of gage that is 5,020.60 feet above NGVD29 (USGS, 2022). The following sections describe the data retrieval and exploration method, and the assessment of the severity of drought conditions in 2021 at the chosen site. The resulting notebook showed that the drought conditions in 2021 at the chosen site were particularly apparent and concerning, especially when compared to the site’s past data. This drought affected the water flow for the entire year of 2021, but the water flow was lowest during the late summer and fall months.