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<br />MAY H82 <br /> <br />McElmo Creek originates in Montezuma Valley between Dawson Draw anu <br /> <br />Navajo Wash and flows toward the west, joining the San Juan River in <br /> <br />southeastern Utah. Return flows from irrigation in the valley and froD <br /> <br />urban use in Cortez constitute much of the water in the channel. <br /> <br />Ground Water Resources <br /> <br />Ground water resources are limited. Existing wells yield less than 50 <br /> <br />gallons per minute in the Montezuma Valley area and less than 10 gallons per <br /> <br />minute to the north and south .!.I. Depths to ground water vary considerably, <br /> <br />from less than 50 feet along stream valleys to more than 500 feet on <br /> <br />plateaus and stream divides. The volume of recoverable water in the upper <br /> <br />100 feet of saturated rocks is estimated to be less than 2 acre-feet per <br /> <br />acre in the Montezuma Valley area and less than 0.5 acre-foot per acre in <br /> <br />surrounding areas. <br /> <br />Water Quality <br /> <br />Immediately below the town of Dolores, the quality of Dolores Hiver <br /> <br />water is well within the U.S. Public Health Service and Colorado State <br /> <br />drinking water standards. Samples collected by the Bureau of Reclamat ion <br /> <br />from 1953 through 1960 contained total dissolved solids (TDS) in a <br /> <br />flow-weighted average concentration of 127 milligrams per liter (mg/l). <br /> <br />Depending upon the time of year, the concentrations ranged from 79 to 352 <br /> <br />mg/l. <br /> <br />The Colorado State Department of Health collected 36 water samples at <br /> <br />Dolores from 1969 through 1975. l/ Although its analyses inidcated the <br /> <br />presence of heavy metals - iron, zinc, and mercury and the toxic substances <br /> <br />arsenic and selenium - none of these elements exceeded the recommended <br /> <br />limits for domestic water. <br /> <br />1/ Colorado Water Conservation Board and United States Department of <br />Agriculture, Water and Related Land Resources: San Juan River Basin; <br />Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (Denver, June 1974). <br />2/ Provided by the Air and Water Surveillance and Analysis Division, <br />Environmental Protection Agency, Denver, Colo. <br /> <br />001846 <br /> <br />III-lO <br />