{
  "dataset_name": "Great Salt Lake Depletions Reconciled Dataset",
  "metadata": {
    "dataset_name": "Great Salt Lake Depletions Reconciled Dataset",
    "purpose": "Provide Strike-Team-aligned depletion totals with basin/state detail for bankability, policy analysis, and ledger reconstruction. M&I sector totals are anchored to the 2026 Strike Team reported total of 640 kaf/yr (2020-2024). All sector totals are aligned to the 2026 Strike Team table.",
    "time_periods": "1990-1994; 1995-1999; 2000-2004; 2005-2009; 2010-2014; 2015-2019; 2020-2024",
    "units": "Thousand acre-feet per year (KAF/year), period-average",
    "primary_reference": "2026 Great Salt Lake Strike Team depletions table (sector totals by 5-year period). Source: Utah Division of Water Resources. The Strike Team table shows M&I = 640 kaf/yr for 2020-2024, Agriculture = 1,551 kaf/yr, Reservoir = 27 kaf/yr, Ag Incidental = 33 kaf/yr, Mineral = 136 kaf/yr, Total = 2,387 kaf/yr.",
    "supporting_source_1": "Utah Water Budget Model output (WB_Summary251119.csv), Utah Division of Water Resources, November 2025. Used for basin/state spatial distribution shares for all sectors. Documentation: Utah Division of Water Resources, Utah Water Budget Handout, updated December 2025.",
    "supporting_source_2": "2021 Utah Water Plan depletion table. Used for Utah-basin agriculture and potable M&I foundation values.",
    "supporting_source_3": "Utah Water Budget / GSL basin convention: Great Salt Lake basin = Bear River (UT, ID, WY), Weber River (UT), Jordan River (UT), Utah Lake (UT). West Desert excluded.",
    "supporting_source_4": "Great Salt Lake Distribution Management Plan for at-lake depletions and terminal accounting context.",
    "supporting_source_5": "2025 Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan. Used for cross-reference validation of sector totals under the broader GSL basin convention.",
    "field_period": "Five-year averaging period matching the 2026 Strike Team table.",
    "field_basin": "Bear River, Weber River, Jordan River, Utah Lake, Great Salt Lake Terminal System, ALL.",
    "field_state": "Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, ALL.",
    "field_sector_major": "Agriculture, M&I, Incidental, Reservoir, Mineral, Total.",
    "field_sector_minor": "Subcategory description. For M&I, Total is the Strike-Team-aligned sector total (640 kaf/yr for 2020-2024); Potable and Secondary are detail rows for current-convention interpretation and should not be added on top of M&I Total.",
    "field_depletion_kaf": "Strike-Team-aligned average depletion for the row.",
    "field_wb_reference_kaf": "Water Budget reference value (WB_Summary251119.csv) used to derive the basin/state distribution share. This is the pre-scaling Open Data Portal figure. The WB Model reports 556 kaf/yr M&I for GSL basins for 2020-2024; the 84 kaf/yr difference between WB (556) and Strike Team (640) reflects secondary water accounting refinements documented in the Utah Division of Water Resources' Utah Water Budget Handout, updated December 2025.",
    "field_source_framework": "Short description of the alignment method used for the row.",
    "field_method_note": "Row-specific methodology note.",
    "field_record_type": "sector_total = row contributes to the Strike-Team-aligned sector total; subsector_detail = diagnostic breakout within a major sector; reference_total = overall period total.",
    "agriculture_method_general": "For 1990-1994 through 2015-2019, Agriculture is allocated across basin/state rows using Water Budget shares from Agriculture Depletions + Sub-Irrigated Surface Depletions (WB_Summary251119.csv), then scaled proportionally to the Strike Team agriculture total for that period.",
    "agriculture_method_2020_2024": "For 2020-2024, Agriculture uses a GSL Accounting foundation: Utah Bear, Weber, Jordan, and Utah Lake from 2021 Utah Water Plan structure plus Idaho and Wyoming Bear derived using 3.4 AF applied water and 50% return flow, then scaled proportionally to match the Strike Team agriculture total of 1,551 kaf/yr for period consistency.",
    "agriculture_variance_note": "The unscaled contemporary foundation totals approximately 1,502 kaf/yr; scaling to the 2020-2024 Strike Team agriculture total (1,551 kaf/yr) preserves basin/state structure while reproducing the official table. Agriculture basin rows sum to 1,552 kaf due to rounding; Strike Team reported total is 1,551 kaf.",
    "mi_method_general": "M&I sector total is anchored to the 2026 Strike Team reported figure of 640 kaf/yr for 2020-2024. Basin/state distribution uses Water Budget M&I depletion shares from WB_Summary251119.csv, scaled proportionally by factor 640/556 = 1.151. The WB Model reports 556 kaf/yr for the same basins and period; the 84 kaf/yr difference reflects secondary water accounting refinements documented in the Utah Division of Water Resources' Utah Water Budget Handout, updated December 2025, specifically the revision of the outdoor depletion factor from 40% to 91%. Basin-level M&I figures for 2020-2024: Bear/UT=55, Weber=175, Jordan=257, Utah Lake=147, Bear/ID=4, Bear/WY=3 kaf/yr.",
    "mi_outdoor_depletion_revision": "The 2026 Strike Team M&I total (640 kaf/yr) incorporates a revision of the outdoor water use depletion factor from 40% to 91%, documented in the Utah Division of Water Resources' Utah Water Budget Handout, updated December 2025. This revision reflects improved understanding of outdoor irrigation depletion in the intermountain west and is the primary driver of M&I rising from 16.4% to 26.3% of total depletions between prior and updated water budgets. The increase represents improved measurement of consumption that was always occurring, not a change in actual water use.",
    "mi_604_804_note": "Prior versions of this dataset and associated site pages referenced 604 kaf and 804 kaf as alternative M&I boundary figures. These figures do not appear in any official state document. The 2026 Strike Team table reports 640 kaf as the single M&I total. All site tables and this metadata have been updated accordingly. See FAQ depletion comparability section for full explanation.",
    "mi_breakout_note": "Potable and Secondary detail rows are provided for 2020-2024 only as subsector_detail record_type. Potable values retain the low-depletion 2021 Utah Water Plan foundation (Bear/UT 26, Weber 67, Jordan 197, Utah Lake 59 kaf/yr). Secondary adds an approximately 273 kaf/yr contemporary outdoor/secondary increment distributed across Utah GSL basins using Water Budget M&I shares. These rows are diagnostic and are nested within, not additive to, M&I Total.",
    "incidental_method": "Incidental depletion totals are anchored to the Strike Team incidental row and distributed using Water Budget incidental depletion shares by basin/state.",
    "reservoir_method": "Reservoir evaporation is kept as a cross-basin/system total because the Strike Team row excludes Bear and Utah Lake and the Water Budget file does not provide a matching, directly compatible basin breakout.",
    "mineral_method": "Mineral depletion is treated as a Great Salt Lake Terminal System total and anchored directly to the Strike Team mineral row (136 kaf/yr for 2020-2024).",
    "bear_note": "Idaho and Wyoming Bear River values are included because the Water Budget and GSL basin convention include the full Bear system. These interstate values are less certain and not individually state-approved. Idaho/Wyoming Bear River agriculture totals approximately 684 kaf/yr combined. These depletions are outside Utah direct policy jurisdiction and are governed by the Bear River Compact. For bankability analysis, Idaho and Wyoming depletions should be excluded from the Utah-manageable depletion total.",
    "gsl_basin_convention_note": "The GSL basin convention in this dataset (Bear, Weber, Jordan, Utah Lake, all states) is the broader convention consistent with the Strike Team and Utah Water Budget Model. The state's position that the full GSL basin gives the most complete picture of total consumptive use is correct and this dataset reflects that convention. For bankability analysis, approximately 800-900 kaf/yr of the total depletion figure represents depletions that Utah policy instruments cannot directly reduce: Idaho/Wyoming Bear River agriculture (~684 kaf/yr) and Utah Lake depletions subject to routing and evaporation constraints. See FAQ bankability caveat for detail.",
    "ledger_comparison_note_1": "The baseline ledger and 30-year rolling ledger on gslaccounting.org use only the Utah portions of Bear, Weber, and Jordan and exclude Utah Lake and Idaho/Wyoming. This dataset uses the broader GSL basin convention. These datasets will not tie directly without filtering to Utah-only rows, removing Utah Lake, and adjusting for time period.",
    "ledger_comparison_note_2": "No column in the historical depletion estimates table uses the same geographic boundary as the Water Ledger baseline, which covers Utah Bear, Weber, and Jordan basins only. Analysts comparing this dataset to the Water Ledger must adjust for boundary differences before drawing conclusions about trends in actual water use.",
    "depletion_table_note": "The historical depletion estimates table on the FAQ page shows 30-year period averages computed from each report's published period bands, approximating 1991-2020 as closely as each report's band structure permits. Basin Plans = Utah-only design-year construct (~1990). 2021 Water Plan = Utah-only measured average 1989-2018. 2023-2026 Strike Team columns = broader GSL basin convention including Idaho and Wyoming. 30-year averages computed by GSL Accounting from period-band source data; individual band data available in source documents.",
    "ai_usage_note": "For policy and bankability analysis: (1) Use sector_total rows for reproduction of Strike Team table; (2) Use subsector_detail rows to interpret M&I composition; (3) For Utah-only bankability analysis filter to state=Utah rows and exclude Utah Lake basin rows; (4) M&I sector_total basin figures for 2020-2024: Bear/UT=55, Weber=175, Jordan=257, Utah Lake=147, Bear/ID=4, Bear/WY=3 kaf/yr - derived from WB spatial shares scaled to 640 kaf Strike Team total; (5) Do not use 604 or 804 as Strike Team M&I figures - these do not appear in official documents; (6) Agriculture basin rows sum to 1,552 kaf; Strike Team reported total is 1,551 kaf - difference is rounding; (7) Total basin rows sum to 2,329 kaf; Strike Team reported total is 2,328 kaf - difference is rounding."
  }
}