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<br />Four "qllit~r~ L"on~i.;t of UIKon- <br />mlidatl:d dt;'po.;it~. These are the <br />alluvial aquift'rs along the South <br />Platte and Arkansa~ rivers and <br />tht'ir tributaries. the High Plains <br />portion of the Ogallala aquifer <br />in Eastt'w Colorado. and tht' <br />San Luis Valley aquifer system in <br />the Rio Grande basin. <br /> <br /> <br />The rt'l1l;tining three principal <br />aquiters-the !)enver b;}sin <br />aqllit~r system underlying parts <br />of tht' South Platte and <br />Arkansas River basins, tht' <br />Piceance basin aquiter ~ystem <br />northeast of Grand Junction in <br />the Colorado R.iver basin. and <br />the Leadville Limestone aquifer near Glenwood <br />Sprinb'S in tht' Colorado River basin-consist of <br />consolidated rock. Aquiters in the Dakota. Morrison <br />and Entrada Formation ill tht' sOlltlnvestern part of <br />the state are not principal aquifers in Colorado but <br />are ~iglliticant in alljacent states. In many art'as of <br />tht' st;ltt" wdls yield water from other localized <br />aquifers. Hmvt'Vt'r. tht'st' minor aquift'rs providt' <br />only a slllall pt'rct'ntage of the total volume of \vater <br />lIst'd ill Colorado. <br /> <br />Major Factors Affecting Water <br />Quality <br /> <br />Tht' qll<llity of Colorado 's \vaters is anected by many <br />dinert,lIt fi:atures, including both natural and human- <br />cau~cd t:1Ctors. Important natural (onditions include: <br /> <br />geological formations that may dramatically <br />infiuence water quality <br /> <br />topographic and climatological factors that con- <br />trol the hydrologic regime <br /> <br />the types and density of vegetation within <br />watersheds <br /> <br />Human-caused impacts result from: <br /> <br />discharges of pollutants <br /> <br />polluted runoff from various land uses <br /> <br />stream channel modjfications and development <br />in floodplains. <br /> <br />Historically, industrial and municipal waste-water point- <br />sources have bet'11 of greatest concern. Mort' recently. <br />nonpoint or dilfuse sourct's of pollution from different <br />types of land uses have emerged as major water-quality <br />concerns. Signifi(ant impacts rdated to land use includt' <br />urbanization, agriculture, road construction and mainte- <br />nance, mining, and timber harvesting. Such land uses <br />can introduce potentially toxic inorg.mic and organic <br />chemical pollutants. as well as pathogenic bacterial and <br />viral organisms, to the water body. They can also dam- <br />age its physical structure, resulting in habitat loss. <br /> <br />Water-quality degrad1tion may also be as.'iociated with <br />water uses including: loss of aquatic habitat due to <br />dewatering and increa<;e in chemical pollutant concen- <br />trations; impacts rdated to \vater storage and release <br />from impoundment'i; and conrallunated return flows <br />from agriclIltllraluses. <br /> <br />There ilr <br />e /0)> <br />rho,. out streams i 00 d '''0.) St <br />e <}'e 0 '\ c.. o~ tf ,., CoIOr3\-c..v..es an reserVOirs " siz.e are in Colorado rearn rn"/ \ 68 . <br />ver 9.000 11"'\\e <", oVer J 0 acres ,n . I es in Colorado, with m, <br />\. <br />~~0 <br />More <br />