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<br />SINBAD VALLEY SALINITY REPORT <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Salt Creek, as it flows through Sinbad Valley (south of Gateway, Colorado), <br />has been identified as a point source of saline ground water in a Bureau of <br />Land Management report entitled "Control of Salinity from Point Sources <br />Yielding Groundwater Discharge and from Diffuse Surface Runoff in the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin". Salt Creek is tributary to the Dolores River in the <br />Upper Colorado River Basin (See location map). Saline ground water discharge <br />from the Paradox member of the Hermosa Formation and overlying alluvium in <br />Sinbad Valley is responsible for high concentrations of dissolved solids in <br />Salt Creek. This ground water is discharged through a series of springs and <br />seeps near the mouth of Sinbad Valley. The Bureau of Land Management <br />initiated a feasibility report for the interception and disposal of these <br />saline waters during the 1982 fiscal year. <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />The Agreement between the United States and Mexico in 1973 and the Federal <br />Water Quality Control Act Amendments of 1972 provide legislative direction for <br />the reduction of salinity of the Colorado River Basin whenever possible. For <br />compliance with this legislation, the Bureau of Land Management earmarked <br />funds for a feasibility study in Sinbad Valley. <br /> <br />Prior to the 1982 Fiscal Year, the funds would have been forwarded to the <br />Denver Service Center Salinity Team which conducted the preliminary <br />investigation and developed the above mentioned report. However, <br />responsibility for salinity control had been delegated to the BUM State <br />Offices at that time. The Colorado State Office in turn delegated <br />responsibility and transferred funds to the Grand Junction District Office. <br /> <br />The District evaluated project needs and implementation alternatives. The <br />capability of doing the work in-house, by contract, or by another agency was <br />reviewed, considering time-frames, technical expertise needed, and workload. <br />The decision was to have the Bureau of Reclamation assist the BLM, with work <br />authorized under an interagency agreement. <br /> <br />Purpose <br /> <br />This report presents alternative methods for the interception and disposal of <br />saline ground water in Salt Creek and presents the Bureau's conclusions <br />concerning the Sinbad Valley Salinity Study. Additional proposed salinity <br />proj ect s are presented. <br /> <br />(','if'JlrS0 <br />I,; ... t.., ,. <br /> <br />1 <br />