Reconnaissance Investigation of Water Quality, Sediment, and Biota Associated with Irrigation and Drainage

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0170 Purpose and Scope This report presents background information about the middle Arkansas River basin and describes the results of a reconnaissance investigation of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation drainage in the basin. The results of the investigation are intended for use by the DOI in determining if irrigation drainage has caused or has the potential to cause harmful effects on human health, fish, and wildlife, or might impair the suitability of water for other beneficial uses. Water and bottom - sediment samples were collected by personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey. Samples were collected at 14 surface -water and 5 ground -water sites in the basin from near Pueblo, Colo., to near Garden City, Kans. Sites included streams, reservoirs, and municipal wells. Biota samples were collected by personnel of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, assisted by the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Kansas Department of Parks and Wildlife. Samples were collected at the same 14 surface - water sites where water and bottom - sediment samples were collected. All sampling was completed during June through October 1988. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank the many people and agencies who assisted in sample collection during the study. Charles Bennett and Jim Melby, of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, helped collect fish at reservoir sites in Colorado, and Terry Sexson, of the Kansas Department of Parks and Wildlife, helped collect birds at Lake McKinney in Kansas. Steve Lasero, Bryant Will, Mark Leslie, and Steve Keffer, of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and Bruce Peters, of the Kansas Department of Parks and Wildlife, arranged permission for bird and fish collection in their jurisdictions. Harold Scofield, of the city of La Junta, and Dale Kortz, of the city of Las Animas, in Colorado, and John Armstrong, of the city of Syracuse, Louis Vanover, of the city of Lakin, and Wayne West, of the city of Deerfield, in Kansas, provided access to their municipal wells and assistance with sample collection. W. Fred Stoeckly, of the Garden City Company, which owns and operates Lake McKinney, gave permission to sample that site. Kurt Bontrigger and Erwin Caldwell, who own land near Deerfield, provided access for sampling the Arkansas River at the last major diversion point in the study area. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA Location The study area comprises parts of the Arkansas River basin in southeastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas (fig. 1). It extends along the Arkansas River from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Pueblo to Garden City, a distance of about 250 mi (fig. 2). 5