by Utah Geologic Survey

1. 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

2. • 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 heat
or
– Water arising from cooling of
a magma body – possibly
Roosevelt and Cove Fort

3. • 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

4. Regional Drought Conditions
Summer pond level is usually higher than winter

5. Crystal Hot Springs
Salt Lake County
I-15 Freeway
To Jordan River
Bluffdale Flowers
Future Wetland
Utah Prison
High Tech Oquirrh 4
Fisheries
Ponds
N
Scale: ¼ mile

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. • 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. • 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

14. • 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

15. • - 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

16. 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

17. • 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

18. 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

19. • 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

20. • 300 varieties of fish have been
raised
• Crystal Lake has hosted many
until recently
• Uncertainty over water rights
affects business outlook

21. - 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

22. Long Term Outlook for Crystal Hot Springs
• 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