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<br />721 <br /> <br />63. Comment: <br /> <br />Response: <br /> <br />64. Comment: <br />Response: <br /> <br />65. Comment: <br /> <br />Response: <br /> <br />Drinking water in the reservoir should not be significantly impacted due <br />to lower turbidity and the quality of water from the river will be similar to <br />historical values. Water quality sampling will be performed at Archuleta <br />during the test. Parameters sampled for include pH, conductivity, <br />temperature, major cations and anions, and trace metals. <br /> <br />Fecal coliform sampling should be done when Navajo Dam releases are at <br />500 cfs as well as 250 cfs to evaluate relative effects, if any, of release <br />rates on fecal coliform concentrations. <br />Fecal coliform sampling is scheduled to be done during the low flow test <br />at least once at Archuleta, Blanco, Bloomfield, Lee Acres, and <br />Farmington. The river segment from Blanco to Farmington is out of <br />compliance for fecal coliform and the State of New Mexico Environmental <br />Department will begin extensive studies on fecal coliform next year in this <br />segment. Since fecal coliform has a wide range of values and is more <br />dependent on precipitation events, no other sampling is scheduled at this <br />time. <br /> <br />Will the return flow from septic and other sources be monitored? <br />Retumflowsfrom septic systems or waste treatment plants will not be <br />monitored, however several places in the San Juan River will be <br />monitored for fecal coliform (Archuleta, Blanco, Bloomfield, Lee Acres, <br />and Farmington). <br /> <br />Water quality measurements should be made at Bluff, UT, and water <br />quality tests should occur before and after the test for comparison. <br />Water quality sampling is not scheduled at this time for Bluff, Utah. It is <br />anticipated that inflows from the Animas River will be large enough to <br />keep flows at the Bluff USGS gage within historical values. The <br />historical water quality samples collected at this gage will be used as a <br />reference for the low flow test and EIS. <br /> <br />SUMMARY <br /> <br />The potential for significant impacts to a variety of resources from long-term low flows in the <br />San Juan River is recognized. The short-term test is not expected to result in significant impacts; <br />however, because there are provisions to terminate the test under certain conditions. The test is <br />expected to provide valuable information to evaluate long-term impacts of changes in the <br />operations of Navajo Dam. <br /> <br />29 <br />