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<br />(~~) <br /> <br />N <br />-.J <br />W <br />(.v <br /> <br />{~)) <br /> <br />Data Requested and Analyses Performed. Data from the Council on <br />Environmental Quality's UPGRADE .(User-Prompted GRAphic Data Evaluation) <br />system was requested and analyzed-to d;scribe present a;bient water <br />quality in the Upper Colorado River Basin. It should be noted that the <br />basic lack of data and the developing state of water quality modeling <br />for several variables of concern are cause for lack of in-depth analyses. <br /> <br />It is recognized, however, that daily water quality records are <br />available from the U.S. Geological Survey WATSTORE system, and that <br />this data could contribute to this analysis. Also, the U.S. Geological <br />Survey detailed water quality modeling work with the Piceance Creek <br />Basin will provide valuable future insights. These topics are addressed <br />in other sections of this report. <br /> <br />Present Ambient Water Quality in Subbasins Likely to be Influenced <br />by Emerging Energy Technology Development. The subbasins likely to be <br />affected by EET development have been chosen using the disaggregation <br />(by SSUs) of DOE projections of coal gasification and oil shale develop- <br />ment (see chapter 6). Subbasins and their variables of concern are <br />discussed below. To put the various water quality conditions into per- <br />spective, the following table 3.7 shows mean annual discharges for <br />periods of record. <br /> <br />Table 3.8 summarizes rhe water quality variables of concern for <br />selected subbasins likely to be influenced by EET development. Com- <br />ments regarding the data and specific variables are also given. The <br />list of references in the bibliography may be consulted for more <br />detailed information. <br /> <br />Summary of Present Water Quality. Ambient water quality conditions <br />obviously vary throughout the Basin as a result of areal variations in <br />lithology, climate, vegetation, and site-specific industrial, agricul- <br />tural, and municipal development. Natural sources (e.g., salt domes) <br />also contribute to water quality degradation. <br /> <br />The only persistent variable of concern throughout the Basin <br />appears to be OS. Figure 3.4 shows the mean OS levels at Upper Basin <br />stations for the documented period of record. Note that levels grad- <br />ually increase as rivers converge and flow downstream, but that Lake <br />Powell does serve to minimize the high mean annual OS levels (1,027 mg/l) <br />shown at the Cisco, Utah, gauge. <br /> <br />Other water quality topics such as: (1) the need for intake water <br />treatment prior to EET development as a function of existing water <br />quality, (2) the associated treatment costs, and (3) the water quality <br /> <br />impacts of EET development scenarios, will be addressed in other <br />sections of this assessment report. <br /> <br />3-19 <br />