WSP03533

• File Number: 8200.760
• Description: Yampa River General
• State: CO
• Basin: Yampa/White
• Water Division: 6
• Date: 1/1/1985
• Author: USGS
• Title: Selected Trace-Element Data for Streams in the Southern Yampa River Basin - North-Western Colorado - 1985
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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SELECTED TRACE-ELEMENT DATA FOR STREAMS IN THE SOUTHERN YAMPA
RIVER BASIN, NORTHWESTERN COLORADO

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ABSTRACT

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By Wendy S. Maura

Increases in coal m1n1ng in northwestern Colorado have increased concerns
about the impact of mining on the chemical quality of .surface water. An area
of particular concern is in the southern part of the Yampa River basin. To
identify the .changes produced. by mining in this area, .i t is necessary to
determine the present water chemistry resulting from the geology, climate, and
land use. Because few data were available, a program for the synoptic collec-
tion of water-quality data was developed, in which sampling sites. were
selected to determine the surface-water chemistry.

This study was begun in April 1982. Water-quality samples were collected
from sites on continuously flowing streams where a large concentration of sus-
pended material was present. Each selected site, from the Oak Creek drainage
near Steamboat Springs on the.east, to the surface-water gaging station on the
Yampa River near Maybell on the west, was sampled repetitively as changes
occurred in discharge and specific conductance. Water-quality data from
surface-water gaging stations and other selected surface-water sampling sites
in the study area for water years 1976 to 1982 are included in the report.

INTRODUCTION

Increasing demands for energy have resulted in a significant increase of
coal production in Colorado, particularly in the~Yampa River basin of north-
western Colorado. This development has increased concerns about the impacts
of mining on the quality.of surface water. To identify the possible. changes
in water quality produced by mining in this area, it is first necessary to
determine the present water chemistry resulting from the geology, climate, and
land use. A synoptic water-quality program was developed to assess the water
chemistry of the Yampa River basin.

This study began in April 1982, in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of
Land Management. It was a continuation of a 1981 study (Maura, 1982) in which
water-quality samples were collected to determine concentrations of the major
dissolved constituents present in streams of this study area. The objective
of this report is to make available the trace-element data collected for
selected streams in this study area.

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DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA

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Data presented in this publication were collected from some of the sites
sampled in the 1981 study (Maura, 1982). In that study, 26 sites were sampled

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