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0134 <br />Exceedances of the State water - quality standards can be observed in the <br />summaries listed in tables 4 through 12. Median pH values at all stations <br />were always within the water - quality - standard allowance range. The maximum <br />water - quality standard for pH was exceeded once at station 07103780 Monument <br />Creek at USAFA (table 5) in August 1985 and once at station 07105530 Fountain <br />Creek below CSWWTP (table 10) in September 1984. <br />Median dissolved- oxygen concentrations always exceeded the water - quality <br />standard. At station 07105905 Fountain Creek below Fountain (table 11) in <br />July 1988 and at station 07106500 Fountain Creek at Pueblo (table 12) in <br />August 1981, the dissolved - oxygen concentrations did not meet the water - <br />quality standard. At station 07103700 Fountain Creek near Colorado Springs <br />(table 8) in August 1980, the dissolved- oxygen concentrations did not meet the <br />standard for spawning of cold -water fish. <br />At station 07106500 Fountain Creek at Pueblo (table 12), the standard for <br />nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen was exceeded once in July 1982. Median con- <br />centrations of total phosphorus were larger than 0.1 mg /L except at station <br />07103747 Monument Creek at Palmer Lake (table 4) and 07103700 Fountain Creek <br />near Colorado Springs (table 8). Data for total phosphorus were not collected <br />at station 07103780 Monument Creek at USAFA. For the stations with median <br />values larger than 0.1 mg /L, the median concentrations ranged from 0.16 mg /L <br />at station 07104000 Monument Creek at Pikeview (table 6) to 4.4 mg /L at <br />station 07105530 Fountain Creek below CSWWTP (table 10). There is no State <br />water - quality standard or Federal criterion for phosphorus; however, the U.S. <br />Environmental Protection Agency (1986) has stated that in order to prevent <br />nuisance algal growth associated with accelerated eutrophication, total <br />phosphorus concentrations should not exceed 0.1 mg /L in streams. This con- <br />centration is associated with eutrophication- related water - quality problems <br />in reservoirs. Currently (1988), there are off - stream but no on- stream <br />reservoirs on these two creeks. <br />Median trace -metal concentrations were less than the State standards at <br />all the stations except the following: stations 07103780 Monument Creek at <br />USAFA (table 5) and 07105905 Fountain Creek below Fountain (table 11), dis- <br />solved manganese; stations 07104000 Monument Creek at Pikeview (table 6) and <br />07104905 Monument Creek at Bijou (table 7), total recoverable copper; and <br />station 07106500 Fountain Creek at Pueblo (table 12), total selenium. The <br />State water - quality standard for fecal coliform was exceeded at least once at <br />each station except stations 07103747 Monument Creek at Palmer Lake (table 4) <br />and 07103780 Monument Creek at USAFA (table 5). <br />WATER - QUALITY VARIATIONS AND TREND ANALYSIS <br />Variations and trends in water - quality properties and constituents were <br />investigated during this study. Water - quality variations among stations were <br />evaluated qualitatively using box plots. Variability of water - quality data at <br />each station and among stations was compared for the period of record. <br />Because the period of record is not the same for all stations, the statistical <br />determination of water - quality trends among seven of the nine stations was <br />done for a common period of record: water years 1980 through 1988. Time - <br />series trends at all nine stations were determined for the period of record. <br />6 <br />