WSP10213

• File Number: 8276.200
• Description: Paradox Valley Unit - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 4
• Date: 8/6/1975
• Title: Project Overview - Colorado River Basic Salinity Control Advisory Council
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Project Overview

PARADOX VALLEY UNIT, COLORADO

Introduction

Paradox Valley, located in
Montrose County of southwestern
Colorado, has been identified as a
significant natural contributor to
salinity in the Colorado River
Basin. Studies conducted over the
last three years by the Bureau of
Reclamation have indicated that the
Dolores River picks up approximately
200,000 tons of salt annually in
Paradox Valley from a natural
source and discharges the salt into
the Colorado River northeast of
Moab, Utah. The salinity of the
Colorado River has been increasing,
particularly in the Lower Basin
states - parts of Arizona, California,
utah, Nevada, and New Mexico - as
a result of man's use and reuse of
the river. About 10 million tons
of salt are now carried by the river
each year, posing economic problems
for water users because of lower
crop yields and increased treatment
costs. The total costs of salinity
in the Lower Basin were about $53
million in 1973 and could reach
$124 million annually by the year
2000 if corrective measures are not
taken and if development continues.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is
conducting a basin-wide program to
minimize salinity levels in the
Colorado River system. The ultimate
objective would be to limit any
further increases in salinity while
the Upper Basin States - parts of
Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming,
and Colorado - continue to develop
their water resources. Title II of
the Colorado River Basin Salinity
Control Act (Public Law 93-320) of
June 24, 1974, authorized the Sec-
retary of the Interior to construct,
operate, and maintain four salinity

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control units, referred to as
units, in the Colorado River
Basin in order to control
salinity. The units include
Las Vegas Wash, Nevada; Crystal
Geyser, Utah; Grand Valley,
Colorado; and Paradox Valley,
Colorado.

PARADOX VALLEY DESCRIPTION

Paradox Valley, about 24
. miles in length from northwest
to southeast and about 3 to 5
miles wide, is crossed near its
midpoint by the Dolores River.
The surrounding walls of bril-
liantly-colored sandstone and
shale layers are quite steep and
rugged, while the floor itself
is relatively flat. Economic
activity consists of about 3,600
acres of privately irrigated
cropland in the northwestern
half of the valley, live&tock
grazing, mining and oil explora-
tion, and a lumber mill in the
town of Paradox. The climate
of the valley is generally
semiarid, typically hot and dry
during the summer and cold and
dry during the winter. The
average precipitation at the
town of Paradox is 10.8 inches
per. year. Much of this precipi-
tation occurs during the summer,
primarily from thunderstorms
of brief duration.

Paradox Valley is one of
five major collapsed salt anti-
clines (elongated swells) in
southwestern Colorado and south-
east em Utah. The region is about
100 miles long and is marked
by the protruding mass of the
La Sal Mountains situated pro-
minently over its center.

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