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D. WATER RESOURCE Much of the Study Area is high altitude, alpine country with a rela- tively harsh clirnatea Precipitation varies from about 30 inches at the lower elevation (9500) to an estimated 50 - 55 inches in the upper cirque basins. Snow is the dominant form of precipitation and heaviest in the December to March period (about 40 percent of total precipitation) . The steep terrain in Oh-Be-Joyful, combined with the heavy snowfalls, creates significant snow avalanche activity periodically throughout the winter and early spring. Since the Study Area lies just east of the Ruby Range, the effect of the range on storm systems, which as a general rule come from the west, contributes significantly to the . snowpack. During the summer frequent thunderstorm activity accounts for another significant percentage of the annual precipitation. The spring and fall seasons are the driest periods of the year. a. Water Quality Available water quality data in the Oh-Be-Joyful drainage is sum- marized in Appendix c. Water quality within the Study Area is good. The second tributary upstream from the mouth of Oh-Be-Joyful (Redwell Basin) is strongly influenced by acid mine drainage, resulting from past mining activity from the Daisy Mine. Chemical analysis of the flow from Redwell Basin, including Daisy Mine, on 9/9/79 found significantly elevated levels of cadmium, chromium, zinc, copper, manganese, lead and fluoride. Though considerable dilution occurs as this tributary enters Oh-Be- Joyful Creek, the available data indicate that Oh-BE-Joyful Creek, at its mouth, still fails to meet Colorado Class I Aquctic Life Standards (coldwater biota) for aluminum, zinc, and lead - due primarily to the acid mine drainage in Redwell Basin. Only about one m~le of Oh-Be- Joyful Creek is affected, all below the Study Area. Above Redwell Basin, and throughout the study area, the only known potential sources of pollution are past mining activity, erosion from the primitive road up Oh-Be-Joyful Creek, and fecal contamination from human and other warm-blooded animals. Insufficient data are available to assess the impacts of these sources, but the impacts are beli(~ved to be negligible. The jeep road shows few signs of active erosion, and is well away from Oh-Be-Joyful Creek in ~ost places. Past mining activity has been on a small scale with minimal surface disturbance. A small number of bacteriological samples show no sign of animal or man-caused fecal pollution. The impact of the geology and rock types within the study area on its chemi::al wate~ qualit) is largely llnquantified, but chemical analyses of samples t3.ken fre m Oh-Be-, oyful C.reek "bove its confluence wi th Peeler Basin found no violatio. s of Color ad) Class 1 Aquatic Life Standards for cold water bioti There are no known water quality improvement needs in the Oh-Be-Joyful Wilderness Study Area. 25