WSP08407

• File Number: 8270.100
• Description: Colorado River Basin Water Quality/Salinity -- Misc Water Quality
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 10/1/1983
• Title: Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program - Big Sandy River Unit - Draft Planning Report/Advance Draft Environmental Impact Statement - October 1983
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: EIS

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Location

The Big Sandy River Unit of the Colorado River Water Quality

Improvement Program (CRWQIP) is located in southwestern Wyoming in

Sweetwater County, as shown on the Frontispiece Map.

The unit area,

although unbounded, generally encompasses the Big Sandy River drainage

below the Big Sandy Reservoir and extends to slightly south of

Interstate 80 near the city of Rock Springs and west nearly to the

Sweetwater-Lincoln County line. The Big Sandy River is a tributary of

the Green River, which in turn is a tributary of the Colorado River.

The unit area includes the cities of Rock Springs and Green River

and the rural communities of Eden and Farson.

Interstate Highway 80

traverses the southern edge of the area from east to west through Rock

Springs and Green River.

U. S. Highway 191 extends north from Rock

Springs, through Eden and Farson, toward northwestern Wyoming.

Purpose, Scope, and Study Objectives

The overall purpose of the Big Sandy River Unit is to reduce salin-

ity in the Big Sandy River and, subsequently, in the Colorado River

system. The removal of salt would improve the quality of water in the