9342

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9342
• Author: Wynn, K. H., N. J. Bauch and N. E. Driver.
• Title: Gore Creek Watershed, Colorado--Assessment of Historical and Current Water Quantitiy, Water Quality, and Aquatic Ecology, 1968-98.
• USFW Year: 2001.
• USFW - Doc Type: Denver.
• Copyright Material: NO

10-12. Graphs showing:
10. Mean annual streamflow at selected gaging stations in the Gore Creek watershed......................................... 23
11. Mean monthly streamflow at selected gaging stations in the Gore Creek watershed ...................................... 24
12. Mean daily streamflow and specific conductance at the mouth of Gore Creek............................................... 26
13. Graph (A) and map (B) showing:
Distribution (A) and spatial distribution (B) of specific conductance .................................................................... 27
14. Graph showing trilinear diagram of major-ion data for site 29, at the mouth of Gore Creek ................................. 30
15. Graph showing distribution of nutrient concentrations for all surface-water sampling sites

in the Gore Creek watershed ................................................................................................................................... 31

16-22. Graphs (A) and maps (B) showing:
16. (A) Distribution of ammonia and (B) spatial distribution of median concentrations of
ammonia for surface-water sampling sites in the Gore Creek watershed ........................................................ 33
17. (A) Distribution of nitrate and (B) spatial distribution of median concentrations of nitrate
for surface-water sampling sites in the Gore Creek watershed ........................................................................ 34
18. (A) Distribution of orthophosphate and (B) spatial distribution of median concentrations
of orthophosphate for surface-water sites in the Gore Creek watershed.......................................................... 35
19. (A) Distribution of total phosphorus and (B) spatial distribution of median concentrations
of total phosphorus for surface-water sites in the Gore Creek watershed........................................................ 36
20. Streamflow and (A) nitrate and (B) total phosphorus concentrations, Gore Creek at mouth
(site 29), October 1995-December 1997 ......................................................................................................... 38
21. Temporal distribution of ammonia (A) and nitrate (B) at Gore Creek at mouth, site 29................................. 40
22. Temporal distribution of orthophosphate (A) and total phosphorus (B) at Gore Creek

at mouth, site 29 ............................................................................................................................................... 41

23. Map showing ground-water sampling sites in the Gore Creek watershed, 1988-97 .............................................. 46
24. Map showing aquatic-ecology sites on Gore, Black Gore, and Polk Creeks .......................................................... 52
25-31. Graphs showing:
25. (A) Relative percent biovolume of the major algal divisions and (B) total biovolume
for nitrogen-autotroph diatoms at sampling sites on the main stem of Gore Creek......................................... 55
26. Chlorophyll-a biomass at sampling sites on the main stem of Gore Creek ..................................................... 57
27. Relative (A) and total (B) abundance of the major macroinvertebrate groups at sampling
sites on the main stem of Gore Creek .............................................................................................................. 58
28. Abundance of Trichoptera individuals, by functional feeding mechanism...................................................... 60
29. Relative (A) and total (B) abundance of the major macroinvertebrate groups in Black Gore

and Polk Creeks................................................................................................................................................ 62

30. Comparison of fish-community structure at the mouth of Gore Creek with a reference site
in Rocky Mountain National Park.................................................................................................................... 63
31. Comparison of chlorophyll-a biomass with relative percent algivores at sampling sites on
the main stem of Gore Creek............................................................................................................................ 64

TABLES

1. Surface-water, ground-water, and aquatic-ecology sampling sites, and data sources and types

in the Gore Creek watershed ................................................................................................................................... 9

2. Summary of procedure used to aggregate nutrient data in the Gore Creek watershed into selected

nutrient constituents................................................................................................................................................ 20

3. Generalized water budget for the Gore Creek watershed........................................................................................ 21
4. Hydrologic characteristics for surface-water sampling sites in the Gore Creek watershed.................................... 22
5. Median nutrient concentrations for background and urban land-use categories for the Gore Creek
watershed, Upper Colorado River Basin, and the United States............................................................................. 37
6. Summary of the minimum, median, and maximum values for the water-quality properties and
constituents of monitoring wells sampled in the Gore Creek watershed, 1997...................................................... 48
7. Summary of selected water-quality and habitat data for aquatic-ecology sampling sites in Gore,

Black Gore, and Polk Creeks .................................................................................................................................. 54

IV CONTENTS