Crystal Hot Springs• Located in Draper, Utah, near Point-of-

the Mountain

• Series of natural warm springs and ponds

• Used since pioneer times for stock watering, recreational swimming, log floating, beaver raising

• Area has been rural in nature since pioneer times, now facing heavy urban development pressure

• Crystal Hot Springs is in a good geographic position for more intensive use – the prison might be relocated

• Geo-Exchange vs Geothermal– Heat pump to take advantage

of differential temperature of air or soil

– Not considered renewable energy

– Not considered geothermal energy

• Direct Use vs Indirect Use– Deep circulation of meteoric

water through terrestrial heator

– Water arising from cooling of a magma body – possibly Roosevelt and Cove Fort

• Crystal Hot Springs is located in Intermountain fault system

• The spring system is located between two closely spaced range-front faults that are intersected by a north-northeast striking fault.

• The geothermal system is fed by mountain rain and snowfall that descend through fractured bedrock

• Geothermal heat is from normal terrestrial heat flow rather than from igneous rock

• Geothermal water quality meets secondary drinking water standards

• Deep well temperature reaches 195ºF• Artesian flow varies from 600 to 1,000

gallons per minute• A long-term decline in ground water

table is due to regional well pumping• The groundwater system may be

limestone that produces corrosive CO2

Regional Drought Conditions

Summer pond level is usually higher than winter

Crystal Hot SpringsSalt Lake County

N

Bluffdale Flowers

Utah Prison

High Tech Fisheries

I-15 Freeway

Ponds

Oquirrh 4

To Jordan River

Future Wetland

Scale: ¼ mile

Utah Department of Corrections – Draper Prison

Collaborative Effort and Performance Contract ---- Utah Department of

Corrections- Utah Department of Facilities

Construction and Management (DFCM)

- Johnson Controls, ESCO- Utah Energy Office

Reduce facility operation and maintenance costs

• Prison totals 1.1 million square feet

• Base year total annual energy cost of $2.0 million

• Project includes measures for:– Electric load– building heat load– Water demand– Solid waste

• Maximum overall cost of $5,800,000

• Minimum annual savings of $228,000

1983 Geothermal Heat Project

• Original project supplied space heat and hot water to the Oquirrh 4 dormitory, gymnasium, cafeteria and offices

• Heavy corrosion shut down equipment after about one year of operation

• Failure caused by intrusion of air into system, CO2, minerals and lack of adequate system materials

• System abandoned in place

• One well site lost to memory

2003 Phase I Geothermal

• Supply building heat and hot water to Oquirrh 4 buildings totaling 40,000 square feet

• Hollow masonry, single pane windows, dampers fixed

• Use existing circulation system with automatic back-up to campus steam system

• Installation cost $519,000

• $68,000 minimum annual savings in avoided cost of fossil fuel

• 7.6 year payback on investment

• 17 year equipment life

• New plate and frame heat exchanger

• Variable speed drive on the building side for heat control

• Constant speed pump on geothermal side to prevent air intrusion supply 240 to 300 gallons per minute

• Digital controls

• Existing fan and coil space heat distribution system

• No holding tank, few strainers and limited entry of valves and sensors

• Improved materials such as fiberglass reinforced plastic pipes

• Geothermal temperature of 185ºF and maximum 40 ºF drop across exchanger

• Outfall water can reach 160ºF, usable for additional downstream use

• Initial savings in avoided natural gas use are estimated at $17,000 per month for winter months

• Use of 100 percent make-up air to meet indoor air quality standard and poor insulation quality of Oquirrh 4 buildings suggest that savings in avoided natural gas may be under-estimated

Phase II Geothermal - 2005

• Replace the fixed speed 10-horsepower geothermal well pump by a 25-horsepower variable speed drive that can potentially deliver up to the full water right of 750 gpm

• Add a second heat exchanger

• Expand building heat and hot water to the prison furniture shop, sewing shop and Special Service Dormitory that may total 252,350 square feet of building area.

• Geothermal system success may require improved fan-coil heaters, upgraded insulation and digital controls and improvements to the existing back-up boiler to better fit the geothermal system

Bluffdale Flowers

• Formerly known as “Utah Roses” began business in 1981

• Clearfield commercial greenhouses were formerly in Clearfield and Sandy

• Natural gas and fuel oil were used for heating greenhouse space

• Geothermal well in Sandy, 5,000 feet deep, 120º F water

• Initial geothermal system provided 250 gallons per minute

• Current greenhouse space totals 250,000 square feet

• Buildings and equipment from other sites have been moved to Draper site

• An expansion of greenhouse space is tentatively underway, totaling 80,000 to 250,000 square feet

• Production of fish for culinary use is being considered

• Temporary elimination of heat exchanger resulted in immediate corrosion of distribution system

• Plate and frame heat exchanger intake is at 185ºF, discharge at 160ºF

• No back-up heating system existing – greenhouse space may descend to near freezing in winter

• Bluffdale circulates heated water both above and below the growing tables

• City water is used for heat exchanger and irrigation due to poor quality well water

• Drilling of wells east of freeway may prove successful, as done by the prison

• Re-heating of geothermal flow by natural gas may be needed to heat that new space.

• Natural gas may augment geothermal for space heat and provide for on-site power generation due to high electrical load for fan and pump motors

• - At present, foreign competition in the flower business is complicating the decision to expand

• - Drought conditions are evident in lower spring flow, but were not a factor in the 2004-05 winter due to mild weather conditions.

• - There is some indication that the drought may be easing

There is some question about the long term adequacy of geothermal flow due to:

• long-term water table decline

• potential loss of flow caused by prison use of geothermal water, especially with Phase II

• potential commitment of surface discharge from prison to wetland development

• Persistent regional drought conditions

• Other water rights issues

• Corrosion in pipes from geothermal chemistry resulted in replacement of the main pump shaft last fall and the main heat exchanger was replaced a couple of years ago

• At present, Bluffdale Flowers uses a 40-horsepower line-shaft pump running at constant speed to supply geothermal water from a well depth of about 200 feet.

• Reinjection of geothermal flow to preserve water right was not successful due to poor soil conditions. State of Utah removed requirement

High Tech Fisheries• 25-year old aquaculture

business

• Tropical fish production is for aquarium use

• The most successful of many attempts in the area

• Drought conditions have hampered operations

• Geothermal flow is marginally adequate for aquaculture due to temperature loss in transit

• Geothermal flow has been re-routed to boost volume

• Labor is provided by prison inmates

• 300 varieties of fish have been raised

• Crystal Lake has hosted many until recently

• Uncertainty over water rights affects business outlook

- Geothermal conditions resemble Africa’s Lake Malawi

- Fish propagation area totals 4,500 square feet

- commercial vegetables have been tried, but not done at present

- tropical plants for aquariums may prove successful again

- water rights issues are emerging as prison geothermal use expands and wetland development is planned

• 7 natural ponds are fed by artesian flow, going dry unpredictably

• Regional groundwater pumping and geothermal development limit pond size and flow

• Careful use and development could expand commercial uses and natural environment

• Heavy urban development may encroach on, or enhance the resource

• Water rights issues will become more important

Long Term Outlook for Crystal Hot Springs