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• 2.04.7 (2) (b) (ii) <br />(ii) Water Quality. <br />Water in the North Fork of the Gunnison River is a seasonally <br />eariable, soft to moderately hard, calcium-magnesium-sodium- <br />bicarbonate type water. The major concentration of the <br />chemical constituents, i.e., calcium, magnesium, sodium and <br />bicarbonate, are negatively correlated with flow (i.e., the <br />greater the flow the less the concentrations of these <br />constituents). Preliminary investigations during the Fa11 <br />of 1975 showed that trace element concentrations in the North <br />Fork of the Gunnison River (as well as in t?innesota Creek) <br />were well below known toxic levels. <br />Turbidity is low in the North Fork of the Gunnison River at <br />Somerset, in part because of the settling which takes place <br />in Paonia Reservoir. This reservoir may also function as a <br />buffer for fluctuations in other chemical constituents. <br />Total dissolved solids increases downstream on the North Fork <br />of the Gunnison River. Between Paonia Reservoir and Paonia, ~ <br />TDS varies between 100-250 milligrams/liter and increases to <br />500-1,000 milligrams/liter at Hotchkiss (Price and Waddell, <br />1973). Downstream water quality is influenced by several <br />natureal and man-induced factors. Solute concentration <br />naturally tends to increase farther downstream, largely because <br />the stream flows through a marine shale valley. In addition, <br />the TDS is raised in the North Fork valley by irrigation return <br />flow. Water quality of the North Fork is also affected by <br />municipal wastes from the towns of Paonia, Somerset and Hotchkiss. <br /> <br />5-58 <br />