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<br />0093 <br /> <br />Monument Creek <br /> <br />Between 1975 and 1983, water temperature, specific conductance, pH, BODs, <br />dissolved oxygen, and suspended solids were measured at four sites on Monument <br />Creek. The period of record of water-quality data varies at each of the four <br />sites (table 2). Water temperature, specific conductance, pH, and dissolved <br />oxygen were measured monthly at each site when water-quality samples were <br />collected. Additional measurements of water temperature and specific con- <br />ductance were made at sites M10 and M28 (fig. 1) when streamflow measurements <br />were made. <br /> <br />Water Temperature <br /> <br />Measurements of instantaneous water temperature in Monument Creek are <br />summarized in figure ]9. At site M]O, water temperatures have ranged from <br />o to about 25 DC, and more than 75 percent of the measurements were less <br />than 20 DC. Coldest water temperatures measured at site M]O (fig. 20) have <br />occurred during the winter; median temperatures measured during December, <br />January, and February have been 1.5, 1.0, and 1.5 DC. Warmest temperatures <br />have occurred during July; median water temperature was ]9.5 DC. Downstream <br />from site M28 (fig. ]9), instantaneous water temperatures ranged from 0 to <br />30.5 DC. Coldest temperatures measured at site M28 (fig. 20) occurred during <br />the winter; median temperatures measured during December, January, and <br />February have been 0, 0, and 1.5 DC. Warmest temperatures occurred during <br />July; median water temperature was 23 DC. <br /> <br />Specific Conductance <br /> <br />Specific conductance of Monument Creek increases downstream as the stream <br />flows from the mountains through residential, commercial, and industrial areas <br />(fig. 21). Measurements of specific conductance at site M]O have been small <br />because the streamflow consists of water that largely is unaffected by man and <br />drains a part of the Rampart Range, which is composed mostly of igneous and <br />metamorphic rocks that resist chemical weathering. Measurements of specific <br />conductance made at site M]O have ranged from 50 to 250 ~S/cm; median specific <br />conductance was 180 ~S/cm. Downstream from Monument, the stream is in contact <br />with sedimentary rocks that contain soluble minerals and receives water from <br />wastewater-treatment plants, ground-water discharge, and tributaries that <br />drain densely urbanized areas. As these waters enter Monument Creek, specific <br />conductance increases. The increase in specific conductance that occurs <br />between site M28 and the mouth of Monument Creek probably results from drain- <br />age of the commercial and industrial areas of Colorado Springs. The apparent <br />decrease in specific conductance between site M34 and site M35 probably is <br />the result of different periods of records having different sources of flow <br />(fig. 2]). The range of specific-conductance measurements at the four sites <br />on Monument Creek increases downstream because of greater variations in flow <br />and differences in sources of flow. <br /> <br />33 <br />