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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />w <br />00 <br />-J <br />:4:., <br /> <br />techniques for the two source types are quite different. Point sources <br /> <br />are generally handled by wastewater treatment plants, while diffuse sources <br /> <br />usually require water and land management approaches. <br /> <br />An Overview of Water Quality and Pollution Sources. The highest <br /> <br />quality water in the Basin is found in the higher elevation mountain streams. <br /> <br />These pristine waters are known for their clarity and pigh productivity <br /> <br />of trout. As these streams move into the valleys, man's influence and <br /> <br />natural erosion begins to affect the quality of the water. The various activities <br /> <br />of man provide the pollutants and resulting pollution problems shown in <br /> <br />Figure IV -1. Also the .pollution problems can be controlled by the various <br /> <br />methods noted in Figure IV -l. <br /> <br />To quantitatively determine the severity of pollution problems <br /> <br />sophisticated measurements are necessary to analyze the clearness of <br /> <br />water (turbidity), the presence of salt concentrations which affect agriculture <br /> <br />and health (salinity), concentrations of toxic materials (poisons), bacterial <br /> <br />public health problems (coliform bacteria which indicate the presence <br /> <br />of disease causing bacteria), and the presence of substances which can <br /> <br />reduce the dissolved oxygen (BOD) or lead to overproduction of plants <br /> <br />(nutrients or fertilizers). These parameters (turbidity, salinity, toxic <br /> <br />materials, coliform bacteria, BOD, nutrients), used to estimate the <br /> <br />degree of pollution, are the most common water quality measurements. <br /> <br />Water Quality Investigations. The earliest investigations of water <br /> <br />quality of the Colorado River were made out of concern for its suitability <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />"I <br />