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<br />,1414 l~ <br />AGRICUL TURAL <br />CHEMICALS <br />"AND <br />~-. ,~~::GROUNDWATER <br />~~I1PROTECTION <br /> <br /> <br />Arkansas River Valley Monitoring <br />Fact Sheet #12 <br />April 1997 <br /> <br />RE~~8IVED <br /> <br />JUL 09 1997 <br />JUl 0 If 1007 <br />ColoratRi Water <br />('.MServ.tion Board <br />.NATeR fiESOUACES <br />STATE ENGINEER <br />COlQ, <br /> <br />Ground Water Monitoring <br />in the Arkansas Valley <br /> <br />The Water Quality Control Division of the <br />Colorado Department of Public Health and <br />Environment (CDPHE) has responsibility under <br />the Agricultural Chemicals and Ground Water <br />Protection Program (SB 90- I 26) to conduct <br />monitoring for the presence of commercial <br />fertilizers and pesticides in ground water. The <br />Agricultural Chemicals Program has been <br />established to provide current, scientifically valid, <br />ground water quality data to the Commissioner of <br />Agriculture, Prior to passage of SB 90- I 26, a lack <br />of data had prevented an accurate assessment of <br />impacts to groundwater quality from agricultural <br />operations, This program will assist the <br />Commissioner of Agriculture in determining to <br />what extent agricultural operations are impacting <br />ground water quality, The program also assists the <br />Commissioner in identifying those aquifers that are <br />vulnerable to contamination, The philosophy <br />adopted is to protect ground water and the <br />environment from impairment or degradation due <br />to the improper use of agricultural chemicals, while <br />allowing for their proper and correct use, <br /> <br />The ground water quality sampling program is <br />intended to fulfill the following objectives: <br /> <br />. Determine if agricultural chemicals are <br />present in the ground water. <br /> <br />. Provide data to assist the Commissioner of <br />Agriculture in the identification of <br />potential agricultural management areas, <br /> <br />The factors considered in selecting an area for <br />monitoring are: <br /> <br />. Agricultural chemicals are used in the area, <br /> <br />. The ground water in the area is shallow in <br />depth or vulnerable to contamination, <br /> <br />. The majority of the agricultural production <br />in the area is irrigated, <br /> <br />. The soil types are prone to leaching, <br /> <br />. The alluvial and lor shallow bedrock <br />aquifers are utilized for domestic water <br />supplies, <br />