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Last modified
1/25/2010 7:08:48 PM
Creation date
10/5/2006 2:12:33 AM
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Template:
Floodplain Documents
County
Gunnison
Community
Uncompahgre Valley
Basin
Gunnison
Title
Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association
Date
1/1/1984
Prepared By
CWCB
Floodplain - Doc Type
Data (general)
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<br />fish and wildlife or (2) may limit the suitability of water <br />for beneficial uses. The duration of reconnaissance <br />investigations is about 2 years. Detailed studies are ini- <br />tiated if reconnaissance investigations indicate that <br />potentially serious water-quality problems are related <br />to irrigation drainage. The purpose of the detailed stud- <br />ies is to gather sufficient information to provide the sci- <br />entific understanding needed for development of <br />reasonable alternatives to mitigate or resolve identified <br />problems. The purpose of planning is to develop coor- <br />dinated action with appropriate Federal, State, and <br />local agencies for cleanup. The final phase involves <br />implementation of corrective actions developed during <br />planning. <br /> <br />A reconnaissance investigation of the <br />Uncompahgre Project (irrigated area outlined in fig. I <br />and pI. I), which is a BOR irrigation project, and of <br />Sweitzer Lake documented elevated concentrations of <br />selenium in some water, bottom-sediment, and biota <br />samples collected in 1987-89 (Butler and others, 1991). <br />Because of the limited scope of reconnaissance inves- <br />tigations, source areas and distribution of selenium in <br />irrigated areas of the Uncompahgre Project were not <br />determined nor were effects on biota documented. <br />Also, trace-element data were not collected in other <br />irrigated areas in the lower Gunnison River Basin that <br />are adjacent to or upstream from the Uncompahgre <br />Project. Based on results of the reconnaissance inves- <br />tigation, a detailed study of irrigation drainage in the <br />Uncompahgre Project was initiated in 1991. The <br />detailed study of the Uncompahgre Project (fig. 1) was <br />expanded to include other irrigated areas in the lower <br />Gunnison River Basin either adjacent to or upstream <br />from the Uncompahgre Project. Therefore, the <br />"Uncompahgre Project area" includes the irrigated area <br />served by the Uncompahgre Project and selected drain- <br />age basins adjacent to or upstream from the <br />Uncompahgre Project. <br /> <br />The BOR identified irrigation drainage from the <br />Grand Valley (fig. I) as a large source of salt to the <br />Colorado River (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1978). <br />Irrigated land in the Grand Valley (fig. 1) is served by <br />Federal and private irrigation systems. The geologic <br />unit that is the source ofthe salt in the Grand Valley is <br />a marine shale (the Mancos Shale), and selenium prob- <br />lems associated with irrigation on marine shales have <br />been documented in other irrigated areas in the Western <br />States (See and others, 1992; Stephens and others, <br />1992). Also, historical selenium data for the Colorado <br />and Gunnison Rivers indicate that the Grand Valley <br />may be contributing substantial quantities of selenium <br />to the Colorado River. There are similarities of cli- <br />mate, physiography, and geology between the Grand <br /> <br />Valley and the Uncompahgre Project area; therefore, <br />the Grand Valley was included in the detailed study. <br /> <br />Purpose and Scope <br /> <br />This report presents physical, chemical, and bio- <br />logical data collected for the detailed study of the <br />Uncompahgre Project area (pI. I) and of the Grand Val- <br />ley (pI. 2) during 1991-92. Additional water-quality <br />data collected by the USGS at six streamflow-gaging <br />stations on the Gunnison, Uncompahgre, and Colorado <br />Rivers during 1991 and 1992 also are included in this <br />report. Tables are presented that include data for onsite <br />measurements done at surface-water and ground.water <br />sites and concentrations of major constituents and trace <br />elements in surface-water, ground-water, bottom-sedi- <br />ment, bedrock, aquifer.sediment, and various biologi- <br />cal samples. Based on results of the reconnaissance <br />investigation in 1987-89 (Butler and others, 1991), <br />selenium was the primary trace element of concern in <br />irrigation drainage in the study area. Data also are pre. <br />sented for stable isotopes, pesticides, clay and bulk <br />mineralogy of material from the Mancos Shale, sele- <br />nium speciation, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocar- <br />bons. Data collection primarily was in the irrigated <br />areas served by the Uncompahgre Project and in irri. <br />gated areas in the Grand Valley. Water and biota sam- <br />ples also were collected in irrigated areas in the lower <br />Gunnison River Basin that are adjacent to or upstream <br />from the Uncompahgre Project. In addition, historical <br />water. level and dissolved-solids data for two wells and <br />selected aquifer-test data collected by the BOR in the <br />Grand Valley are presented. <br />Soil and alfalfa samples were collected in June <br />1991 in irrigated areas in the Uncompahgre Project by <br />the USGS. Soil samples were analyzed for total sele- <br />nium, for selected trace elements, and for selected <br />water-extractable constituents, including water- <br />extractable selenium. Alfalfa samples were analyzed <br />for total selenium. The chemical results for the water- <br />extractable constituents in soils are listed in Stewart <br />and others (1993), and the chemical results for total <br />trace elements in soils and total selenium in alfalfa are <br />listed in J.G. Crock and others, (U.S. Geological Sur- <br />vey, written commun., 1994). <br /> <br />Acknowledgments <br /> <br />The authors thank numerous property owners in <br />the Uncompahgre Project area and in the Grand <br />Valley for allowing access to their property for collec- <br />tion of samples. The authors thank Larry M. Fukui of <br /> <br />2 Physical, Chemical, and Biological Data lor Detailed Study 01 Irrigation Drainage In the Uncompahgre Project Area and <br />In the Grand Valley, West-Central Colorado, t991-92 <br />
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