1. Yusuf Jameel PhD Candidate University of Utah
Understanding urban water transmission pattern using stable isotopes of water a.k.a where is the water in my tap coming from?
Yusuf Jameel
PhD Candidate
University of Utah

2. Where is my water coming from?
Local runoffs
Recycled water
Inter-basin transport
Groundwater well

3. Water isotopes for tracking transmission pattern
Differences in isotope ratios of the different sources
In general, stable isotopes of water, strontium isotopes, major ion concentration can be used to track urban water supply pattern

4. Test region: Salt Lake Valley metropolitan region
Collaboration with Jordan Valley water conservancy district (JVWCD)
Continuous sampling from April 2015 to October 2015
More than 80 source and supply samples from each month

7. Hierarchical Bayesian mixing model
Distance from source
Weighted contribution from each source

8. EXAMPLE
JUNE 2015
68 sites
7 sources
δ18O and δ2H isotopes

9. Fractional contribution of the different sources

10. Robustness of the results

11. Source contribution during May – October 2015

12. Summary May – October 2015

13. Conclusions
Proof of concept - Water isotopes provide a novel way to interrogate urban water supply system
Accuracy and robustness of the results could be improved by integrating multiple geochemical tracers
Could be extremely useful in solving water right issues and contamination cases