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SUMMARY SHEET Lower Gunnison Unit Colorado River Water Qu~rity~nlprovement Program LOCATION . The Lower Gunnison Unit is located in west-central Colorado in the Lower Gunnison River Basin of Delta and ~~ntrose Counties. PURPOSE The objective of the Lower Gunnison Unit is to im- prove quality of water originating from unknown sources In the area defined on the map. The pri- mary purpose of the project is to reduce salinity in the Colorado River System. ~ Feasibility studies on the Lower Gunnison Unit are being conducted under the Federal Water pollution Control Act of October 18, 1972 (Public Law 92- 500) and the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of June 24, 1974 (Public Law 93-320). Drains and washes in the project area are currently being sampled on a monthly schedule. A planning team has been established to coordinate the planning of the unit and provide a vehicle for public participation. In the first stage, emphasis will be placed on evaluating and collecting data for the Uncompahgre Valley Study Area around Delta and Montrose. Later. the investigation will extend to the eastern North Fork Study Area around Crawford and Paonia. . . tlarch 1980 Page 1 of 2 A contract was negotiated with Hydrosearch. Inc.. of Reno, Nevada, for data collection and a review of literature on the area's hydrology and geology. The contractor located, identified, and sampled many of the wells in the area. ' Another contract was negotiated with Aerial Photo Service of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to prepare detailed orthophoto. mapping of the southern half of the area. Under a prior contract with Aero-Metric Engineering, similar data were collected for other areas in the Lower Gunnison Unit. The information obtained is being used for feasibility design estimates. A wetland inventory and evaluation completed in February 1979, showed that wetlands comprise approxi- mately 12 percent of the area. The study identified water sources for individual wetlands and estimated wildlife values. A monitoring system was designed to analyze long term trends in the wetland habitat. In the spring of 1977, Global Engineering of Grand Junction took infrared aerial photographs of the area. The data collected are being used to evaluate the ground water, drainage, and seepage system in the area. A subsurface investigation program was initiated in June 1978 to provide information on salt loading and transport mechanisms. Alternatives are being de- veloped as subsurface investigation data are analyzed and become available. . J 1 - I i ,._..f-./ 1.fJ-. ['oJ.>' 1;1 i ~~..,../ ~ P*'.,. "if;.., ~~/ ~~>-'" ....-' \;.).- r..,j _'Wy,~ ~ :r VALLEY AREA . u....,.".. '. 50