WSP01110

• File Number: 8273.100.10
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control - Federal Agencies - Bureau of Reclamation
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 5/1/1995
• Title: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project - Report on Public and Agency Review of the Program and Implementation Plan for the Basinwide Program - Discussion Draft
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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Blue Springs

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The Blue Springs study area was located on the Little Colorado River within
the Navajo Hopi Indian Reservation in north-central Arizona. The springs
contribute an average of 160,000 acre-feet per year with an average salinity
of 2,500 mg/L and a total salt load of about 550,000 tons per year.

The lower portion of the Little Colorado River flows through a meandering
canyon which is about a mile wide and a half mile deep. The walls of this
rugged gorge are a series of nearly vertical cliffs of massive limestone and
sandstone separated by steep slopes or benches of shale, siltstone, or
thin-bedded sandstone. The bottom can be reached near Blue Springs only by a
rugged foot trail from the rim or by helicopter. The springs originate from
ground water which moves into the.area from the east and south and emerges as
springflow where the canyon has penetrated the Redwall and Mauve limestones
below the regional water table. There are many spring openings along two
relatively well-defined reaches.

A full-scale feasibility study of the project is not planned due to the high
capital cost of building the project and environmental probl~ms resulting from
the significant historical and religious value of the area to the Hopi
Indians.

Colorado River Indian Reservation

The Colorado River Indian Reservation is located in the Lower Colorado River
Basin below Parker Dam in La Paz County, Arizona, and the eastern part of the
San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California.

The United States Supreme Court allocated water to irrigate 107,588 acres, of
which 99,374 acres are in Arizona and 8,213 acres are in California. The
allocation of the court also provided for a maximum diversion of 717,148
acre-feet. In 1978, 75,405 acres were irrigated with Colorado River water
diverted at Headgate Rock Dam. About 200 miles of canals and laterals
delivered water to irrigate this acreage. Irrigation return flowe are
collected in a lOa-mile drainage system and are returned to the river.

The purpose of the Colorado River Indian Reservation investigation was to
formulate a plan to reduce the salt loading to the Colorado River from
irrigation on the reservation. An analysis of the diversions to and the
drainage from the reservation indicated that the reservation did not make a
net salt contribution to the river. Consequently, the investigation was
terminated, and a concluding report was released in October 1979.

A cooperative river basin study was published by USDA for the Colorado River
Indian Reservation. Data available from this study support the hypothesis
that a minimal amount of salt is piCked up on the reservation and that
long-term benefits of better irrigation systems and practices appear to have a
relatively small effect on downstream salinity. The final USDA report Water
Conservation and Resource Development, Colorado River Ind.ian Reservation,
which did not identify a recommended plan, was publiShed and distributed under
authority of section 6 of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act
(Public Law 83-566) .

Dirty Devil River

The Dirty Devil River study area was located in Emery and Wayne Counties in
southern Utah. The study area included the Muddy Creek, the Fremont and Dirty

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