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<br />... <br />,00 <br />.... <br />00 <br /> <br />approximtely lJ3.500 ton" annually, "Ith <br />an e~tJmaled CO~1 effeC11\ene~, of <br />apprOl{imalel) S~9 pel IOn. <br />Stage One dc\dopmenl, (ornph:red In <br />April 1983. mclllded concrete-lining /lll <br />mile.. of the Go\'ernment Hlghlmt" Canal <br />and constructing nUml.'lOU5 cross-drainage <br />feature's. In addition. 13 open C'arlh <br />lalcrab ...ere con\olidaled into 12 pIpe <br />laterals. A mo\s and debris removal <br />,!rw.:ture ""01' pla,ed allhl.' r.eginnlOl1 oi <br />the Improvcd portion of the canal <br /> <br />San Juan Rher Unil Studies <br />Progressing <br />The San Juan Rher Unit in\C'<.tig.uion.. <br />began in ~o\embt'r 19~~ with the <br />objective.. of locating ~alt ",OUTl't', and <br />identifying control method.., The "Iud) <br />area indudC'51heenme 2J/II() ..quare <br />mile watershed from il.. head...ater\ In <br />south.central Colorado to ih mouth at <br />Lake Po....ell. The dramage connibute\ <br />approll.imately one million ton~ of ~a1t <br />annually 10 the Colorado River s~mem <br />Early reconnal~sance sho',\\ significant <br />~a!l loading in the rl\'er bet"'een <br />Shiprock. :-Je'" '.le'lko. and the I-our <br />Corner~. At Slufl, L"lah, thl.' annual no", <br />of 2,047,000 acre-ft-et of ",ater conta'n~ <br />1,165,000 tons of salt. About 18 percent <br />of this salt loadlni! occur~ ~"'CC'n <br />Shiprock and Bluff but only" percent of <br />the "'ater is added in this reach <br />The ~tudy area "'a~ brokl.'n into about <br />20 sub-"'attr~hed\ and geographic are:a~ <br />Since: :-';o\cmber, ",atcr quality "ampllng <br />and 00.... measurcmcnt~ throughout these <br />subbasins ha\'e bec:n made to gam an <br />undcrstanding of salinity mechaOl,m~, <br />The study arca ,,:o\er~ many thousand, 01 <br />squarc miles or' natural rcsource land~ a~ <br />....ell a~ agricultural, munKlpal, and <br />industrial areas that ma\ conuibute <br />controllable salt \lost of the natural <br />~ource of salt 1\ contnbuted by surface <br />runoff and ground ",ate:r disd'arge: from <br />the ~acimiento Formation and '.Ianco\ <br />Shale, '.hny thl)u~ands of acres of <br />\egetation alonillhe streams and ",a..hes <br />"'onen the conditions by ..:oncentralln~ <br /> <br /> <br />I <br /> <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />-- <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />_l <br /> <br />'~. <br /> <br />......~ <br />'#'~, <br /> <br />>4 <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />., ~ ......",." ,- <br />. :J' <br />, -~. <br />,'~"'''';'~'''.<;'''' <br /> <br />..,.fldi"'h.rx..lrom.h.nduntd....Il. <br /> <br />the salt<.. Irrigarion proJect" coal-fired <br />po",erplant... surface mining of't'rations, <br />oil and I!:as fields, and refinery operation, <br />also contribute to the salinuy problems. <br />The ..parsely le!letated '.-lancos Shale <br />Jnd ~acimlento Formation badland,. <br />c(nering much of the basin, contribute <br />large am{lunts of l'('1jimem and total <br />di'~ol\'ed ~olid, ITDS) particularly durmg <br />~ummer thunderstorm... The '.Iancos <br />Shale is also the source of saline l'pnng, <br />and t(round "'ater. Thl' shale is exposed <br />to the river's alluvium from the <br />Hot(bad., Just c:-a\t of Shiprod.. for <br />about ~O miles to just upstream of the <br />cllnl1uence ....ith the '.-1aneo~ Rl\'er, near <br />Four Corners. The \lanco\ Ri~'er cuts <br />.I.cro" the \bncos Shale for about ;:S <br />miles before entering Ihe San Juan Rl~er <br />The Hammond Project. :'\a\'ajo Indian <br />Irrigation Project t~IlP), and the <br />Hogback Projc-s:t (also a ....a~ajo Indian <br />pn'Jectl contam the principal irrigation <br />'l)urCeS of ..aJtm the ba,m. Prelimmary <br />canal seepa!!e and drainage investigation, <br />ha'e been made on the Hammond Pro- <br />Ject and Justify the need for more <br />Jetailed testing, Hil'toric 110'" and ....ater <br />quality' data from subsurface drams sho'" <br />that the irn!lated area contributes aboul <br />1l!.SOO tons TDS annually <br />The ~IIP migated area has recently <br />'tarted di--.:harging ....ater above <br />~oon mt( l. mostly in the Gallego' and <br />OJo Amarillo Washes These are both <br />",ide .!Od dt"Cp sandy ....ashes and the <br />drJmage ....ater .:ould be ,'ollecte-d in them <br /> <br />if dhpmal or mdustrial-u,e ahernatin:\ <br />appearfea,iblo:, <br />The Hogback Project contribute\ heavy <br />l'all loading but the mechanisms have not <br />yet been explored. Ground water accruing <br />to the San Juan allu\'ium in this \'ieinil~' <br />\ho"'s TDS concentration~ of over <br />IS,()(t(Img/L. Other man made salt <br />contrihutions mclude abandoned gas or <br />011 "'ells that have de\'eloped leaks at the <br />wellhead, coolant di~charges from <br />po"'erplant\. and "'astewater from a <br />petroleum refinc:-ry, <br />As Ihe information in this early stage <br />of mveSl1!1allOn is gathere-d. potential <br />l'olutions are bemg de' eloped. Costs for <br />Iinin!l the canals in the area are being <br />estimated, methods of controlling the salt <br />dtl'charge from those areal' nonh of the <br />ri\er are being identified, and potential <br />industrial users will be contacted. En\'i- <br />ronmental and other planmng <br />considerations, sUl-h a, ....ater rights, are <br />being evaluated <br />The conclu\iom from this appraisal of <br />the basin will t>e made by this fall. If at <br />least one cost-effective and acceptable <br />alternati\e can be identified. the sludy' <br />'" ill conllnue to"'ard Identifying the besl <br />plans for redudng salinity m the basin. A <br />planning report and environmental docu. <br />ment I~ sch<<luled for the fall of 1989. <br />QUe~tions or comments on lhis ,tud)' can <br />t>e sent to the Durango Projects Offi..:e, <br />U.S Bureau of Reclamal1on. P,O, Box <br />t>-Ul, Durango, CO "'D02 or b~ phonr at <br />(}03) J85.6500. <br />