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<br />o <br />N <br />W. <br />N <br /> <br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />The Meeker Dome Unit of the Colorado River Water Quality Improve- <br />ment Program is located in northwestern Colorado in the Upper Colorado <br />River Basin as shown on the Frontispiece Map. Meeker Dome is a local <br />anticlinal uplift approxtmately 3 miles east of the town of Meeker. <br />Saline flows from the dome were increasing the salinity of the White <br />River, a tributary of the Green River which in turn is a tributary of <br />the Colorado River. <br /> <br />Purpose of the Report <br /> <br />This Preliminary Findings Report has been prepared to describe ini- <br />tial investigations, to present the results and conclusions of problem <br />identification and quantification (PIQ) and verification activities, <br />summarize the plan formulation process, and describe the monitoring <br />program. Because the Meeker Dome salinity problem was apparently solved <br />as a result of verification activities, the scope of this document is <br />more comprehensive than a typical Preliminary Findings Report. <br /> <br />Authorization <br /> <br />The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law <br />93-320) authorized and directed the Secretary of the Interior to proceed <br />with a basinwide program of works for the enhancement and protection of <br />the quality of water available in the Colorado River for use in the <br />United States and the Republic of Mexico. Title I of the act, which was <br />directed toward controlling the salinity of river water below Imperial <br />Dam for use in the United States and Mexico, authorized the construction <br />of a desalting complex and other measures to ensure acceptable salinity <br />levels. Title II of the act was directed toward salinity control of the <br />Colorado River in the United States above Imperial Dam. Public Law <br />96-375 of October 1980 specifically authorized various feasibility-level <br />studies including the Meeker Dome Unit. <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />Saline water issuing from Meeker Dome waS apparently related to <br />abandoned exploratory oil wells drilled in the early to mid-1900's. The <br />Meeker well was drilled about 1915 at the southern base of Meeker Dome <br />near the White River. In 1924, the Marland Well was dri lIed near the <br />top of the dome. The Scott Well was drilled near the Marland Well in <br />1945. The James Well was drilled in 1956 near the base of the dome on <br />the southeast-facing slope. Between 1958 and 1962, three additional <br />wells, known as the Kritsas Wells, were drilled on the northern toe of <br />