WSPC00560

• File Number: 8270.200
• Description: Colorado River - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program - CRBSCP
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 10/1/1989
• Title: Selenium Contamination from Irrigation Drainage in the Western United States with Emphasis on Utah
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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.it.. .e. cuee.ntly und.eg01ng d.-
t.il.d '.tudy to ...... .ff.ct. of
wat.e, ..dim.nt, .nd wildlife to
d.t..,.in. the oeigin of contamination,
te.n.poet-fat. of contamin.nts, and
food-chain linkage.. Th... .e.a. u.:
middle Ge..n Riv.e ae.a of easteen
Utah: Kendeick Rjcla..tion Project in
eentral Wyoming: Stillwater NWR in
northern N.vada: and Salton Sea area
of southern California.. At the comple-
tion of tb. d.tailed .tudies in 1990.
the reports will b. .xamin.d by the
Bureau of Reclamation and plans made
for remedial action. Although remedial
aetion will b. determined on an indi-
vidual site ba.is, potential options
under eonsideration near Ke.terson NWR
in California IllaY serve as models (San
Joaquin Valley Drainage Program,
1987):
~ On-Parm Wat.r Management--In-
volves reduction in water use by more
efficient management, separation of
drainwater and tailwater with poten-
tial reuse, and sprinkler irrigation.
2. Pish and Wildlife Dabitat Man-
agement--Methods of restoring and pro-
tecting wildlife resources consist of
physical habitat re.toration, aequisi-
tion of additional lands, winter and
spring water storage in w.tlands for
release during summer, and d.livery of
imported water to wetland and wildlife
habitat. prior to providing it for
agriculture.
~. Shallow Ground-Water Manage-
..nt--Shallow ground-water levels
would be controll.d so subsurface
draina are not n..d.d. Management of
shallow ground wat.r to b. done on a
distriet or r.gional ba.i. to lower
the water table. and dimini.b the need
for on-fara drains.
4. Land-U.. Cbanges--Tbi. option
involv.. changing land u.e from inten-
sive irrigation of cropland to other
u.... The.. ehang.. could be the
..lection for salt-tOlerant or lov-
water-u.. crop., conv.rting cropland
to open land or to vet land habitat, or
idling irrigated cropland.
,'5. Drain-Water Treatm.nt--Various
proc..... d.v.lop.d for tr.at..nt of

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salin. .nd indu.tri.l vat.r could be
adapted to d.tozify drain vat.r. SUch
proc..... ..y involve bact.rial d.gra-
dation, iron-filing ad.orption, iron-
hydroxide pr.cipitation, ion-exchange
r.lin., volatilization of the a.l.ni-
l1li, or rev.r..-oao.ie d..alting.
6. Drain-Water R.u..--If contami-
nants could be r.duc.d or eliminated
1n the water, it could poasibly be
r.u..d for agricultur., tr.e farms,
wildlife habitat, fi.h farming, or
salt-gradient solar en.rgy production.
7. Drain-tlater. Disposal--'l'he physi-
cal disposal of drainage could be done
using evaporation ponds and dispo.al
of accllllulated salts, deep-well injec-
tion, or po..ible di.charge and dilu-
tion to a ..jor waterway.
8. Institutional Changes--Potential
institutional changes might involve
tiered water pricing or drainage
charges, water transfers, and creation
of drainage districts to facilitate
finane ing. Tbe.e m.asure. would
involve solving for the ne.ds of
agriculture, economics, environmental
policies, and political realities.

SUMMARY

Selenium, a naturally oceurring
traee element pres.nt in many g.ologie
for.ations in the we.tern United
States, has ereated probl... for
agriculture sinee 1857 vhen it was
...oeiat.d with poisoning of live-
stock. In s..ll quanitities, s.lenium
is reqllind in hlllllaD and animal _tab-
olis.. Bovever, it can bioeoneentrate
through the food chain and cause
deformities in live.tock and wildlife.
FOllowing the 1983 identification of
s.l.nillll in agricultural drainwater as
the cau.. of wildlife d.formitie. at
".terson HWR in California, addition-
al wildlife areaa in the western
UDit.d State. were investigated to
dete"'ine if otber area. were contami-
nated.
Concentrations of s.l.~iu. in
wat.r and biological ti..u.. at St.w-
art Lat. WM" and Ouray RWR in th.