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Last modified
1/26/2010 12:55:19 PM
Creation date
10/12/2006 12:18:52 AM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Water Supply Protection
File Number
8240.300.32.J
Description
San Juan River Recovery Program - Red Mesa/Ward/Mormon Reservoir
Basin
San Juan/Dolores
Water Division
7
Date
2/29/1996
Title
Draft Biological Opinion
Water Supply Pro - Doc Type
Biological Opinion
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<br />c-' <br />.c-, <br />~... <br />.,} <br /> <br />~, <br /> <br />Colonel John N Reese <br /> <br />DRAFT <br /> <br />15 <br /> <br />Water Qualitv <br /> <br />Water quality in the San Juan River was described in the Service's January 12, <br />1995, biological opinion for the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project. <br />Information on existing water quality in the San Juan River has been derived <br />from data gathered by the Department of the Interior.as part of its National <br />Irrigation Water Quality Program investigation of the San Juan River area in <br />northeast New Mexico (Blanchard et. al. 1993) and results from the Bureau's <br />water quality data for the Animas-La Plata Project. <br /> <br />Concentrations of selenium in water samples collected from the mainstem of the <br />San Juan River exhibit a general increase in concentration levels with <br />distance downstream from Archuleta, New Mexico, to Bluff, Utah, (<1 pgjl to 4 <br />pgjl). Tributaries to the San Juan carry higher concentrations of selenium <br />than found in the mainstem river immediately upstream from their confluence <br />with the San Juan; although these levels are diluted by the flow of the San <br />Juan, the net effect is a gradual accumulation of the element in the river's <br />flow as it travels downstream. The introduction of ground water containing <br />selenium to the San Juan River along its course may also contribute to <br />increased selenium levels. Sediments and biota in the San Juan River also <br />show elevated selenium levels. <br /> <br />The other contaminants of concern are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). <br />PAH compounds may reach aquatic environments in domestic and industrial sewage <br />effluents, in surface runoff from land, from deposition of airborne <br />particulates, and particularly from spillage of petroleum and petroleum <br />products into water bodies (Eisler 1987). PAHs were the first compounds known <br />to be associated with carcinogenesis (Lee and Grant 1981). Several PAHs are <br />among the most potent carcinogens known to exist, producing tumors in some <br />organisms through single exposures to microgram quantities. Analysis of bile <br />samples taken from fish in the San Juan River indicate that these organisms <br />are being exposed to high levels of three PAH compounds, and strongly suggest <br />that the aquatic environment of the river is heavily impacted by PAHs. <br /> <br />Phvsical Habitat <br /> <br />The quantity and timing of flows influence how various habitats are formed and <br />maintained. Water depletions reduce the ability of the river to create and <br />maintain these habitats; degradation of water quality lessens the ability of <br />endangered species to survive in these habitats. <br /> <br />Osmundson and Kaeding (1991) reported observations on the Colorado River (15- <br />mile reach) during the drought years of 1988 to 1990, that backwaters were <br />filling in with silt and because spring flows were.not sufficient to flush out <br />the fine sediment. Also, they reported that tamarisk colonized sand and <br />cobble bars, stabilizing the river banks. On the San Juan River, lack of <br />flooding since Navajo Dam was completed has caused establishment of exotic <br />riparian vegetation (tamarisk and Russian olive) that has armored the channel <br />banks resulting in a narrowing of the channel with reduced flood capacity <br />(Bliesner and Lamarra 1994). <br />
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