Laserfiche WebLink
<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />their domestic wastes by means of septic tank sewage systems. <br /> <br /> <br />Because the communites are small and widely separated, any wastes <br /> <br /> <br />are easily assimilated by the river. Dolores, the largest com- <br /> <br /> <br />munity in the basin, does not always provide consistent and <br /> <br /> <br />effective treatment of its waste waters to meet secondary effluent <br /> <br /> <br />standards, however, the town is not included within the bounda- <br /> <br /> <br />ries of the segment of the river to receive wild and scenic <br /> <br /> <br />designation. Considering the present population of the town, <br /> <br /> <br />any effluent which did not meet state standards would affect <br /> <br /> <br />only a short segment of the river and not the designated seg- <br /> <br /> <br />ments. Construction of the proposed McPhee Dam below Dolores <br /> <br /> <br />would further minimize the problem. <br /> <br />Industrial waste sources <br /> <br />Mining operations degrade the water quality of several <br /> <br /> <br />segments of the Dolores, but for the most part the affected <br /> <br /> <br />reaches have not been proposed for wild and scenic river status. <br /> <br /> <br />Toxic metal pollution from mine drainage at Rico has affected <br /> <br /> <br />the stream biota in a nine mile segment of the river. Accidental <br /> <br /> <br />spil1s of toxic substances which have occurred at Rico are a <br /> <br /> <br />greater threat to the river ecosystem, I. _, ~sulfuric acid <br /> <br /> <br />spill that occurred in 1960 affected thirty miles of the river <br /> <br /> <br />before the acid was completely neutralized. Sodium cyanide, <br /> <br /> <br />accidently discharged to the river in August 1974, resulted in <br /> <br /> <br />a substantial fish loss. Although reaches of the Dolores being <br /> <br /> <br />considered for inclusion in the wild and scenic river system <br /> <br /> <br />have not been affected to date by accidental discharges, steps <br /> <br />-2- <br /> <br />~ <br />