Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Sanitary Aspects of Watershed Management <br /> <br />As overall watershed management involves many interests, it <br />is considered essential that proposed developments and activities <br />on watersheds pertaining to public health aspects be fully <br />coordinated with State and/or local health departments. These <br />matters should be mutually considered prior to the actual develop- <br />ment of the watershed and issuance of permits. <br /> <br />Adequate and safe water and sanitary waste disposal facilities, <br />in accordance with State and/or local health agency standards, <br />shou14 be provided in public use areas to serve camping, picnicking, <br />~nd other recreational uses. Water and sanitary facilities for pri- <br />vate dwelling sites should also meet the established health standards. <br />The effectiveness of the sanitation program should be evaluated <br />periodically by a detailed sanitary survey in conjunction with <br />laboratory analyses of water samples collected from surface and/or <br />ground water in the watershed. <br /> <br />On reservoirs constructed primarily to serve as a source for <br />a municipal water supply, extreme caution should be exercised in <br />considering recreational use of the reservoir. This also involves <br />the possibility of additional pollution entering the water supply <br />and the matter of aesthetics. <br /> <br />Preliminary Vector Evaluation <br /> <br />Anticipated Effects of the Proposed Project on Vector Problems <br /> <br />Mosquitoes are the principal vectors which might be affected <br />by the proposed project, although other insects and rodents may be <br />involved. Several species of mosquitoes of public health importance <br />including Culex tarsalis, the encephalitis mosquito, and the vicious- <br />biting Aedes dorsalis are produced in large numbers in the area when <br />suitable aquatic habitats are present. Basic information concerning <br />pertinent biological characteristics of these mosquitoes is given in <br />Appendix A. <br /> <br />Encephalitis, commonly known as sleeping sickness, or brain <br />fever, is now the most important mosquito-borne disease in the United <br />States and the area in which the proposed project is located. Records <br />of the U. S. Department of Agriculture show that equine encephalitis <br />cases occurred in the general project area (Ouray County and/or <br />adjoining counties) during nine years of the l7-year period, 1939 through <br />1955, for which records are available. Although no outbreaks of en- <br />cephalitis in humans have been reported from the area of the proposed <br />project, the reported equine encephalitis cases indicate that viruses <br /> <br />39 <br />