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<br />...'\ <br /> <br />,,~ <br />:., <br /> <br />(' '-"\ <br />',-':<) <br /> <br />25 <br /> <br />&~IRO~n1ENTAL ASSESSMENT <br />FIELD I}NESTIGATIONS <br />Pill1P TESTING PROGRfu~ <br /> <br />f<ECE/VED <br /> <br />NOV 11 1974 <br /> <br />COLO. WiHFR <br />CONS. -, <br />-RVATlON BOARD <br /> <br />COLORADO RIVER BASIN SALINITY CONTROL PROJECT <br />POINT SOURCE DIVISION <br />PARADOX VALLEY UNIT <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />A. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSAL <br /> <br />The purpose of this report is to assess the anticipated environmental <br /> <br />impaccs of field investigations for the Paradox Valley Unit of the Colorado <br /> <br />River Basin Salinity Control Project. Paradox Valley is located in Montrose <br /> <br />COQ~ty in southwestern Colorado. The valley is a major natural source of <br /> <br />salinity in the Upper Colorado River Basin, contributing an estimated 200,000 <br /> <br />cens of salt per year to the Dolores River as it crosses the valley en <br /> <br />route to its confluence with the Colorado River. The implementation of <br /> <br />measures to control this source could reduce the annual salt inflow by an <br /> <br />average of 180,000 tons per year, which would lower the salinity of the <br /> <br />Colorado River by approximately 16 milligrams per liter at Imperial Dam <br /> <br />near Yu~ma, Arizona. This would help to alleviate the serious economic <br /> <br />problems which deteriorating water quality poses for the 10 million water <br /> <br />users in the lower reaches of the river system. <br /> <br />The authority to conduct feasibility investigations was derived from <br /> <br />the Colorado River Storage Project Act (Public Law 84-485), the Navajo <br /> <br />Indian Irrigation Project and San Juan-Chama Project Act (Public Law <br /> <br />87-483), and the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project Act (Public Law 87-590). <br /> <br />7hese legislative acts contained provisions directing the Secretary of <br /> <br />the Interior to undertake water quality studies and to devise plans for <br /> <br />1 <br />