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<br />Although vast amounts of water are stored in several aquifers within the <br />Arkansas River surface drainage, most of the significant quantities of ground <br />water affecting streamflow are contributed by the basin-fill aquifer in the <br />upper basin and the adjacent alluvial aquifer along most of the river course. <br /> <br />PURPOSE AND SCOPE <br /> <br />Many studies to describe and evaluate segments of the water resources of <br />the Arkansas River basin have been conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and <br />other investigators. In total, these studies have provided a good understand- <br />ing of the hydrologic system within the basin. This is one of the first <br />studies to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the entire basin. <br /> <br />A current (1983) study being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in <br />cooperation with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District and the <br />U.S. Bureau of Land Management proposes the development of a comprehensive <br />hydrologic quantity and quality model of the entire Arkansas River basin in <br />Colorado. Initial efforts in this study required the collation and analysis <br />of vast amounts of data. The purpose of this first report from this study is <br />to present some of the data in a complete yet compact format for the use of <br />all persons interested in the Arkansas River. Some selected statistical <br />analyses are presented to help describe the variability of the water resources <br />of the Arkansas River basin in Colorado. <br /> <br />DATA AVAILABILITY <br /> <br />Four types of data are discussed in this report: Precipitation, snow- <br />pack, discharge, and ground-water levels. Monthly precipitation data were <br />collated from U.S. Weather Bureau monthly and annual publicationsl. Snow <br />surveys recording the snowpack as average water content over a snow course <br />measured on or about the first of February, March, April, and May were <br />obtained from U.S. Soil Conservation Service publications2. Monthly mean <br />discharge data were computed from daily discharge records stored in a computer <br />data base (daily values) of the U.S. Geological Survey (1975). Instantaneous <br />water-level data compiled for selected wells were processed from another <br />computer data base (ground-water site inventory) of the U.S. Geological Survey <br />(1975). Although much of this data may have been published elsewhere, no <br />attempt has been made to reference all previous sources. <br /> <br />HYDROGRAPHS AND STATISTICS <br /> <br />Hydrographs of annual precipitation, April 1 snowpack, annual mean stream <br />discharge, and ground-water levels are presented in the following section. In <br />addition, statistical summaries describing correlation analyses and trend <br />analyses are included in each section. <br /> <br />lFor example, U.S. Weather Bureau, 1953. <br />2For example, U.S. Soil Conservation Service, 1972. <br /> <br />3 <br />