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05 <br />Aquatic and wildlife habitat quality- decreasing <br />Heavy metal levels in Arkansas River- high <br />Water quality in drains and creeks in watershed- low <br />The average uranium concentration in <br />ground water. <br />19.4 micro grams <br />per liter. <br />There are significant opportunities to improve the environment within <br />the watershed. Analysis of the watershed identified the problems <br />discussed in this section. The problems are similar over the entire <br />irrigated acreage and the drains that contribute the pollutants to the <br />Arkansas River. Management and enduring irrigation practices provide <br />the opportunities to reduce the heavy metals, sediment, nutrient and <br />pesticide problems in the watershed and downstream in the Arkansas <br />River. Wildlife and aquatic habitat is expected to improve through <br />practice installation. The resource base including 44,500 acres of <br />important farmland will be maintained which will help increase on farm <br />benefits through reduced farming inputs and better yields and thereby <br />improving the local economy. No land use change is anticipated, <br />including irrigated acreages. <br />2 / Reconnaissance Investigation of Water Quality, Bottom Sediment, and <br />Biota Associated With Irrigation Drainage in the Middle Arkansas River <br />Basin. USGS Water Resources Investigations Report 91 -4060, Colorado <br />and Kansas, 1988 -89. <br />3 / Uranium Waters of Southeastern Colorado: A Function of Geology <br />Climate, and Land Use by Robert A. Zielinski and Sigrud Asher - Bolinder. <br />U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO. <br />4/ Selenium In Agriculture, Agricultural Handbook No. 200, 1961 <br />5/ Aquatic Cycling of Selenium:, United States Department of the <br />Interior, USFWS Leaflet 12, 1987 <br />6/ Selenium in Agriculture and the Environment, Soil Science Society of <br />America, Special Publication #23, 1990. <br />19 <br />