<br />...
<br />,00
<br />....
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<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 />
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<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.
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