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<br />categorized as self-disposal systems, an attempt was made to identify systems <br />that had on-site treatment plants based on the the facility type listed in the <br />permit file. <br /> <br />The water-disposal-method estimates described above are presented in <br />table 4 (for counties) and table 15 (for hydrologic subregions) in the <br />"Supplemental Data" section at the back of this report. It was estimated that <br />255 public-disposal systems were operating during 1985 and that they <br />discharged a total of 336 million gallons per day of return flows. It was <br />estimated that an additional 399 self-disposal treatment facilities also were <br />in operation during 1985. In addition to these facilities, there are many <br />other self-disposal systems in the State such as individual domestic septic <br />tanks and drainfields and irrigation return-flow systems. <br /> <br />Data about disposition type also were compiled for this study; water was <br />classified as either being consumptive use or as being return flow after use. <br />Although return flows can be classified as either ground-water return flow or <br />surface-water return flow, this distinction was not made for this study. <br />Because data about the proportion of water comsumptively used during a parti- <br />cular water use are scarce, this proportion was estimated for most water-use <br />categories; estimation methods are discussed in the report sections that <br />follow. For the entire State, it is estimated that 4,840 million gallons <br />per day of water was consumptive use during 1985; return flows amounted to <br />16,000 million gallons per day. <br /> <br />Water-Use Categories <br /> <br />It is convenient to summarize water use by water-use category because the <br />routing of water in the water-use cycle converges on the water user (fig. 3). <br />The categories are discussed in alphabetical order in the sections that <br />follow. Water-use data, by counties, are listed in tables 3-13, and water-use <br />data, by hydrologic subregions, are listed in tables 14-24 in the <br />"Supplemental Data" section at the back of this report. <br /> <br />Commercial Water Use <br /> <br />Commercial water use includes water used by hotels, motels, office <br />buildings, restaurants, other commercial facilities, and civilian and military <br />institutions. Data were compiled for this category for water-source type, <br />water-supply method, and water-disposition type. <br /> <br />Commercial water users located in towns generally obtain water from <br />public-supply systems, while those in rural areas generally use self-supplied <br />ground water. Data about deliveries to commercial users were obtained from <br />public-supply systems. Self-supplied commercial users who serve water to the <br />public (for example, motels and restaurants and any establishment that serves <br />at least 25 people per day for more than 60 days per year) are called <br />"noncommunity water suppliers" and are regulated by the Colorado State <br />Department of Health. Information about these systems, including number of <br />persons served per day, source-type of water, and average water deliveries of <br />the system, were available from the Colorado State Department of Health. <br /> <br />14 <br />