Water Quality of Fountain and Monument Creeks

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0084? Most of the streamflow in Upper Monument Creek is derived from tribu- taries and reservoirs that drain a part of the surrounding Rampart Range and the national forest. As the stream flows southeastward toward Monument, it flows through and drains a few small communities and pastures. Water is diverted in this reach primarily for use as a municipal water supply. Some water also is diverted to ponds and to irrigate pastures. The streamflow of Upper Monument Creek has been gaged since 1977 at site M10 (station 07103747 Monument Creek at Palmer Lake) (fig. 1) located down- stream from the Palmer Lake water - supply diversion. Generally, streamflow has been smallest during the fall and winter (fig. 8A); larger and more variable streamflows occurred during the spring from snowmelt runoff and during the summer from thunderstorms. The mean daily streamflow- duration curve (fig. 8B) indicates that streamflows have been less than 2 ft /s about 50 percent of the time, and streamflows varied substantially as a result of minimal contribution from ground water in storage or from upstream diversions. The frequency curve of instantaneous streamflows made when water - quality samples were collected differs greatly from the mean daily streamflow - duration curve. Therefore, the summary statistics of water - quality constituents affected by streamflow may be somewhat biased toward the larger streamflows. Lower Monument Creek Lower Monument Creek comprises the stream segment from Monument to the confluence with Fountain Creek (fig. 2) and has been classified for class 2 recreation, class 2 warm -water aquatic life, domestic water supply, and for agricultural uses. Numeric water - quality standards associated with these classifications are listed in table 1. As Lower Monument Creek flows south toward Colorado Springs, the stream - flow is affected by storage reservoirs, tributaries that drain a part of the Rampart Range and a part of the Colorado Springs area, sewage effluent, ground -water discharge, and diversions. Much of the stream traverses and drains densely developed commercial and industrial areas. Because of urbani- zation, much of the drainage area is covered by impervious material, which increases the volume and peaks of direct runoff. The streamflow of Lower Monument Creek has been gaged at site M28 (station 07104000 Monument Creek at Pikeview) (fig. 1) and is summarized in figure 9. The streamflow is smallest during the fall and winter (fig. 9A); larger and more variable streamflows occur during the spring from snowmelt runoff and during the summer from thunderstorms. The mean daily streamflow has ranged from 0 to 1,140 ft /s and usually has been less than 13 ft /s. The steep slope of the duration curves in figure 9B indicates that stream- flows vary substantially. The streamflow- duration curve for instantaneous streamflow made when water - quality samples were collected is almost identical to the mean daily streamflow- duration curve (fig. 9B), except for extreme streamflows. Therefore, the water - quality samples collected at the site should characterize the water - quality conditions that occur approximately 96 percent of the time. 15