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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />L"ld.Y .l.;JUV <br /> <br />PARADOX VALLEY C:':l'I' , COLORADO <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Paradox Valley, located in <br />Montrose Coun~y of southwestern <br />Colorado, has been identified as <br />a significant natural contributor <br />to salinity in the Colorado River <br />Basin. The \iater and Power Re- <br />sources Service (Service) is con- <br />ducting a basin-wide program to <br />minimize salinity levels in the <br />Colorado River syste~. The ulti- <br />mate c~jective would be to limit <br />any fur~he~ increases in salinity <br />\o;,hile the Upper Basin State--parts <br />of Gtah, Arizona, New ~lexico, <br />Wyo~ing, an~ Colorado--continue <br />to develop t~eir water resources. <br />Title II of the Colorado River <br />Basin Salinity Control Act (Public <br />Law 93-320) of June 24, 1974, <br />authorized the Secretary of the <br />Interior to construct, operate, <br />and mair.tain four salinity control <br />uni:s in the Colorado River Basin <br />in or~er to control salinity. TIle <br />units include Las Vegas Wash, <br />Nevada; Crystal Geyser, Utah; <br />Grand Valley, Colorado; and Paradox <br />Valley, Colorado. <br /> <br />S:udies conducted over the <br />last several years by the Service <br />have indicated that the Dolores <br />River picks up over 200,000 tons of <br />salt annually in Paradox Valley <br />from a natural source and discl1arges <br />the salt into the Colorado River <br />northeast of Moab, Utah. The salin- <br />ity of the Colorado River has been <br />increasing, particularly in the <br />Lower Basin states--parts of Arizona, <br />California, Utah, Nevada, and New <br />~1exico--as a resul t of man I s use and <br />reuse of the river. About 10 million <br />tons of salt are now carried by the <br />river each year, posing economic <br /> <br />~~oblems from water users because <br />0: lower crop yields and increased <br />:reatment costs. <br /> <br />Paradox Valley Description <br /> <br />Paradox Valley, about 24 miles <br />_.. length from northwest to southeast <br />2~d about 1 to 3 miles wide, is Cr03Sea <br />~ear its midpoint by the Dolores River. <br />:~1e surrounding walls of sandstone and <br />s~121e layers are quite steep and rugged, <br />\{:~:~e the ~Joor itself is relatively <br /> <br />Lcono~ic activity consists c: <br /> <br />~~o~t 3,600 acres of privately ~~~i- <br />~ated cropland in the northwester~ <br />~2~: of the valley, livestock grazing. <br />~:~~ng and oil exploration, and 2 <br />l~~Der mill in the town of Paradox. <br />::':e clima te of the valley is genera~ly <br />Sc~i2~id, typically hot and dry during <br />:~e summer and cold and dry during the <br />...:::-:tCY. The average ?recipitation at <br />:;~e tChtr. of Paradox is 11.0 inches pE~ <br />~~-. :!t;C~ of this precipitatioiJ c.ccurs <br />-:...:':::.c the sUIT.."TIer, primarily fro::-. t:-:i..lf:- <br />~:c:-stO!lTIS o~ brief auratioTl. <br /> <br />Paradox Valley in one of five <br />~.~~cr collapsed salt anticlines (elon- <br />::,~::ed swells) in south\.,estern Colorado <br />G~C southeastern Ctah. The region is <br />~j0ut 100 miles long and is marked b~ <br />~~~e protruding mass of the La Sal <br />;:c:...:ntains situated prominently ove~ <br />!:s center. Paradox Valley, lying <br />~:o~g the axis of one of the largest <br />a~ticlines, has been formed by the <br />er0sion of faulted and uplifted sand- <br />stone and shale formations, exposing <br />a residual gypsum cap which covers <br />a~out 15,000 feet of nearly pure salt <br />and salt-rich shale. <br /> <br />Briefly stated, the emergence <br />2: distant mountainous uplifts on <br />each side of the area has placed <br /> <br />00"610 <br />