WSP04272

• File Number: 8277.600.10
• Description: Big Sandy River Unit - Colorado River Salinity Control Program
• State: WY
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 3/1/1989
• Title: Planning Report Concluding the Study on Big Sandy River Unit - Wyoming
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Location

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The Big Sandy River Unit would be located in southwest Wyoming in
the Upper Colorado River Basin. The unit area, as shown on the
frontispiece map, includes portions of Sweetwater and Lincoln
Counties. Rock Springs and Green River are principal cities in
the unit area. The unincorporated communities of Farson and
Eden, approximately 40 miles north of Rock Springs, along the Big
Sandy River are central to this investigation.

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Purpose, Scope, and Study Objectives

This report was prepared to conclude the planning study on the
unit. The purpose of this study was to identify and delineate
the saline ground-water source along the Big Sandy River, which
contributes a total of about 164,000 tons of dissolved solids
annually to the Colorado River system, and to evaluate plans to
reduce or eliminate that contribution.

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Study Authority

Planning studies on the Big Sandy River Unit were conducted in
accordance with Public Law 93-320, the Colorado River Basin
Salinity Control Act of June 1974; Public Law 96-375 of
October 3, 1980, which authorized feasibility-level studies for
the Big Sandy River Unit and other salinity control units
originally authorized by Public Law 93-320; Public Law 92-500,
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of
October 1972; and Public Law 95-217, the Clean Water Act of 1977.

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The unit was originally authorized for study by the salinity
control act as part of a basin wide program of works for the
enhancement and protection of the quality of water available in
the Colorado River for use in the United States and the Republic
of Mexico. Title I of the act, which was directed toward
controlling salinity in river water used by the United States and
Mexico below Imperial Dam, authorized the construction of a
desalting complex and other measures to ensure acceptable
salinity levels.

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