Laserfiche WebLink
• 2.04.7 <br />RESPONSE continued <br />SURFACE WATER RESOURCES -QUALITY <br />THE GENERAL AREA - The Colorado Water Quality Control <br />Commission adopted "Water Quality Standards and Stream Clas~i- <br />fication," which became effective on September 1, 1971. A~- <br />cordingly, the Yampa and, tributaries from its source to its <br />confluence with and including the Williams Fork of the river are <br />classified Quality Class B-1. Class B waters are suitable for all <br />purposes for which raw water is customarily used, ezcept pri- <br />mary contact recreation, such as swimming and water skiing, <br />(because of elevated fecal coliform levels) . Below the confluence <br />with the Williams Fork the classification changes to B-2 which <br />permits higher temperature and borer dissolved oxygen stan- <br />dards. <br />Yampa river water is alkaline in nature. The geology of the <br />• headwater area yields predominately calcium bicarbonate type <br />water. Sampling indicates that the water of the Yampa River is <br />of good quality and in general meets Colorado water quality <br />standards; (McCall-Elligson i Morrill, 1974) . <br />Water quality of the East Fork of the Williams Fork River is <br />ezcellent. The stream runs clear and cold during the majority of <br />the year except for some turbidity increase during spring run- <br />off. No biological or chemical pollutants are present in signifi- <br />cant amounts in the East Fork, (USDI-BLM, 1976). <br />Site apedfie water quality data was obtained for the Yampa and <br />Williams Fork rivers within the general area and in very close <br />prozimity to the points where runoff from the adjacent and <br />permit areas enters them. This data was obtained by retreival <br />from the EPA's computerized STOREY Water Quality Data Base. <br />These data on the Yampa immediately up and downstream of Dry <br />• Creeks confluence and the data on the Williams Fork immediately <br />upstream of Dowden and Hayden gulch's confluences are pro- <br />vided in Appendix S, Volume II both as raw data retrieval and <br />