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WSP07583
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Last modified
1/26/2010 2:27:58 PM
Creation date
10/12/2006 2:28:16 AM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Water Supply Protection
File Number
8270.200
Description
Selenium
State
CO
Basin
Gunnison
Water Division
4
Date
1/1/1996
Author
USGS
Title
Detailed Study of Selenium and Other Constituents in Water-Bottom Sediment-Soil-Alfalfa and Biota Associated with Irrigation Drainage - Uncompahgre Project Area and in the Grand Valley - 1991-93
Water Supply Pro - Doc Type
Report/Study
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<br />Irrigation drainage from the Uncompahgre <br />Project and the Grand Valley might account for as <br />much as 75 percent of the selenium load in the <br />Colorado River near the Colorado-Utah State line. <br />The primary source areas of selenium were the <br />eastern side of the Uncompahgre Project and the <br />western one-half of the Grand Valley, where there <br />is extensive irrigation on soils derived from <br />Mancos Shale. The largest mean selenium loads <br />from tributary drainages were 14.0 pounds per <br />day from Loutsenhizer Arroyo in the <br />Uncompahgre Project and l2.8 pounds per day <br />from Reed Wash in the Grand Valley. Positive <br />correlations between selenium loads and <br />dissolved-solids loads could indicate that salinity- <br />control projects designed to decrease dissolved- <br />solids loads also could decrease selenium loads <br />from the irrigated areas. Selenium concentrations <br />in irrigation drainage in the Grand Valley were <br />much higher than concentrations predicted by <br />simple evaporative concentration of irrigation <br />source water. Selenium probably is removed <br />from pond water by chemical and biological <br />processes and incorporated into bottom <br />sediment. The maximum selenium concentration <br />in bottom sediment was 47 micrograms pcr gram <br />from a pond on the eastern side of the <br />Uncompahgre Project. <br />Selenium concentrations in some aquatic <br />plants and aquatic invertebrates exceeded a <br />dietary guideline of 3 micrograms per gram <br />dry weight for protection of fish and wildlife <br />resources. More than 75 percent of whole- <br />body fish samples collected from rivers and <br />tributaries throughout the study area had <br />selenium concentrations that exceeded the <br />1984 National Contaminant Biomonitoring <br />Program 85th-percentile concentration of <br />0.73 microgram per gram wet weight. <br />Whole-body fish samples from the Gunnison <br />River had significantly higher geometric <br />mean selenium concentrations than fish samples <br />from the Uncompahgre and Colorado Rivers. <br />Based on a risk assessment using selenium <br />data for five Grand Valley streams, the selenate <br />form of selenium could be a moderate risk to the <br /> <br />swim-up life stage (less than 99 days old) of the <br />endangered Colorado squawfish and to three <br />tested life stages of the endangered razorback <br />sucker. Zinc concentrations in Adobe Creek, <br />Leach Creek, and Indian Wash were in the high- <br />risk category for the swim-up life stage of <br />Colorado squawfish. <br />Selenium concentrations in food items of <br />migratory birds collected at wetlands in the <br />Uncompahgre Project area exceeded the dietary <br />guideline for protection of consumer wildlife. <br />Fathead minnows from ponds had high selenium <br />concentrations, and the maximum concentration <br />was llO micrograms per gram dry weight. <br />Selenium concentrations in bird eggs and livers <br />generally were in the range of uncertainty <br />regarding biological risk; however, some samples <br />from the Uncompahgre Project area had selenium <br />concentrations in the high-risk category. Of <br />65 bird eggs incubated, only one had any visual <br />deformity. Five recently hatched birds and two <br />embryos that were found dead at two ponds in the <br />Uncompahgre Project area had selenium concen- <br />trations ranging from 19 to 43 micrograms per <br />gram dry weight, but no abnormalities or deformi- <br />ties were observed. <br />Toxicity tests on irrigation-drainage water <br />from five Grand Valley streams indicated no <br />significant toxicity differences between control <br />and test samples, except for the test on fathead <br />minnows exposed to water from Leach Creek. <br />Bioaccumulation of selenium from water to biota <br />was significant in the study area, and the highest <br />bioaccumulation factor was about 20,900 from <br />water to bird livers. Selenium accumulates in fish <br />and birds in the study area to levels that would <br />limit human consumption if eaten on a daily basis. <br />It is unlikely that fish and birds taken in the study <br />area are consumed by humans on a daily basis. <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />High concentrations of selenium have been <br />detected in irrigation drainage in the San Joaquin <br />Valley in Califomia. In 1983, incidences of mortality, <br />abnonnalilies, and reproductive failure in waterfowl <br /> <br />2 Detailed Study of Selenium and Other Constituents In Water, Bottom Sediment, 5011, Alfalfa, and Biota Associated with <br />Irrigation Drainage In the Uncompahgre Project Area and In the Grand Valley, We.t~Central Colorado, 1991-93 <br />
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