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<br />ro <br />~ <br /> <br />.-" <br /> <br />FIGURE 8 <br />WHAT DOES SALINITY IN THE COLORADO RIVER MEAN? <br /> <br />'. .' <br /> <br />As water moves over and through the earth's crust, it dissolves <br />the salt of naturally occurring minerals. These additions <br />to the water, often referred to as TDS (total dissolved solids), <br />are measured in terms of milligrams per liter (the metric <br />equivalent of parts per million in U.S. measure). <br /> <br />Water Quality Standards <br /> <br />Average Colorado River <br />Salinity Levels (1981) <br /> <br />Good drinking water <br /> <br />Municipal & <br />Industrial <br /> <br />Headwaters <br /> <br />In mg/L <br />50 <br /> <br />Use <br /> <br />In mg/L <br />Below 500 <br /> <br />Location <br /> <br />Losses begin <br />above 500 <br /> <br />Dividing point-- 513 <br />Upper and <br />Lower Basins <br /> <br />Agricultural <br /> <br />Losses begin <br />700-850 and <br />above <br /> <br />Last U.S. <br />Diversion <br />point <br /> <br />806 <br /> <br />To illustrate concentrations: <br /> <br />50 mg/L = 1 ounce of TDS in 200 gallons of water <br />820 mg/L = 3 cups of TDS in 200 gallons of water <br /> <br />The TDS in the Colorado River are expected to increase, possibly <br />reaching 1089 mg/L at the last U.S. diversion point (Imperial <br />Dam) in the year 2010 without control. <br /> <br />One mg/L is equivalent to about 10,000 tons of TDS. Each <br />mg/L increase is expected to cause an additional one half <br />million dollars in damage each year when salinity concentrations <br />reach the 875 to 1225 mg/L range. <br /> <br />42 <br />