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<br />1. Middle Green River Bas in, Utah <br /> <br />The U.S. Department of the Interior organizprl sturly teams to <br />dete,rmine if inigation dlaillage callses prohlems ill the West. ,Within the <br />middle Green River Basin, efforts were {'ollcentrat,ed on the S,tewart Lake <br />Waterfowl Management At'ea and the Ouray National Wildlif.e Refug.e. <br /> <br />Elevated levels of selenium, a naturally occurring element in the <br />soils of the area, has been found in water, sediment, and some bi,r.ds, fish., <br />~ and plants at the Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area and the 'Ouray <br />CO National Wildlife Refuge near Vernal, Utah. Selenium in the soil is leaehed <br />CJ from the soil by irrigation water. The drainage water from irrigation is used <br />o in the wildlife area where it is concentrated by evapotranspil-ation and can <br />become concentrated enough to cause abnormalities in waterfowl. <br /> <br />Concentrations of selenium in water from four irrigation drains <br />ranged from 14 to 140 parts per billion (ppb). Concentrations of selenium in <br />the livers of coots from the lake ranged from 4.9 to 26 parts per million <br />(ppm) as dry weight. Carp collected from the lake contained selenium <br />concentrations of as much as 31 ppm as dry weight. <br /> <br />The concentration of selenium in water of the North Roadside Pond at <br />the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge was as great as 93 pph. Liver tissue from <br />coots, a common type of waterfowl, contained :1n average selenium concentration <br />of 32 ppm dry weight. This selenium concentration is within the range of <br />concentrations that were considered harmful to waterfowl at the Kesterson <br />National Wildlife Refuge in California. <br /> <br />Five bird eggs collected from the North and South Roarlside Ponds <br />contained selenium concentrations of as much as 120 ppm. Several deformed <br />coot embryos were discovel"ed in this area and resul ted in the closure of a <br />portion of the refuge to public acces's for a short time in 1987. <br /> <br />The reconnaissance phase of <br />published entitled >>Reconnaissance <br />Sediment, and Biota Associated with <br />River Basin, Utah, 1986-87>>. See <br />Investigations Report 88-4011. <br /> <br />the study was completed and a report <br />Inves~igation of Water Uuality, Bottom <br />lrrigation Drainage in the Middle Green <br />U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources <br /> <br />2. Lover Colorado and Gila River Valleys <br /> <br />The annual flow of the Lower Colorado River is vital to the <br />economic well-being of millions of people in Arizona, California, and northern <br />Mexico. The hydrologic environment of the river has been altered greatly by <br />man in his attempts to utilize more fully the flow of the river. Demands for <br />water include not only municipal, irrigation, and electrical power generation <br />demands, but also navigation, recreational and wildlife habitat demands. <br /> <br />The Department of the Interior has four important functions as land <br />and water steward in the Lower Colorado and Gila River Valleys: (1) the <br />Bureau of Reclamation manages Colorado River diversions to private irrigation <br />districts which irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of intensively farmed <br />agricultural areas in Arizona and Cali fornia; (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs <br />manages agricultural areas irrigated by Colorado River diversions within the <br />Colorado River Indian Reservation; (3) the Bureau of Land Management manages <br />Fred J. Weiler Green Belt for wildlife and fisheries habi tat and public use <br /> <br />III-2 <br />