WSP04572

• File Number: 8271.300
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program - General Information and Publications-Reports
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 1/1/1981
• Author: R Evans W Walker
• Title: Optimizing Salinity Control Strategies for the Upper Colorado River Basin -- Part 1 of 2 - Title page - 186 -- Abstract - Bibliography
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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agricultural loading values tend to be much smaller. This
is due to the fact that the agricultural salinity contri-
bution was based solely on concentrating effects.
Natural runoff contributes 52 percent of the salt load
from the Upper Basin (EPA, 1971). In an effort to control
any salinity effects due to soil disturbance by livestock
grazing and energy development in the basin, the Bureau of
Land Management is pursuing a program of more restrictive
grazing controls, inter seeding of contour furrows, and chain-
ing and seeding to control salinity from surface hydrologic
events (Bently et al. 1978). Much of this program is based
on work by Gifford et al. (1975) in the Price River area.
Ponce (1975) and Ponce et al. (1975) reported on non-
point salt loading from grazing and its effects on Mancos
Shales in the Price River Basin. Whitmore (1976) and White
(1977) reported on the salinity aspects of Mancos soils and
the effect of microchannels, respectively. All of these
studies basically concluded that a practice which compacts
or otherwise disturbs the soil structure, reduces infiltra-
tion and increases runoff and/or erosion on saline soils
will increase salt yields. Similar results were obtained by
Laronne and Schumm (1977) for the Grand Valley area. Thomas
(1975) investigated the use of gully plugs and contour fur-
rows to control erosion and had good success. McWhorter and
Skogerboe (l979) investigated inter flow as a transport
mechanism for salt on Mancos soils, and determined that it
had little effect.