2010-11-22_REVISION - M2009023 (7)

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PAHs are compounds that may reach aquatic environments in domestic and industrial sewage effluents, in surface runoff from land, from deposition of airborne particulates, and particularly from spillage of petroleum and petroleum products into water bodies (Eisler 1989). Wilson et al. (1995) reported that concentrations of PAHs were elevated in the Animas River, but no identification of source location or activity has been made. The San Juan River below Montezuma Creek also had elevated levels of PAHs; and seasonal increases in PAH concentrations were detected in the "Mixer" area of the river. PAH levels in the bile of common carp and channel catfish sampled were high in one fish and moderate in several other fish from the San Juan River. The presence of PAH metabolites in bile of every fish sampled suggested some level of exposure to hydrocarbons (Wilson et al. 1995). Service analyses of PAH - contamination of aquatic biota of the San Juan River, and liver tissue examinations of fish in the river, raised concerns regarding the exposure of these organisms to contaminants introduced into the basin. Table 1. Environmental Baseline Water Depletions for Long Hollow Reservoir Depletion Category Acre-Feet NEW MEXICO DEPLETIONS Navajo.tands Irrigation Depletion / Navajo Indian Irrigation Project 280,600 Hogback 12,100 Fruitland 7,898 Cudei 900 Subtotal 301,499 Non-Navajo Lands Irrigation Depletion Above Navajo Dam - Private 738 Above Navajo Dam - Jicarilla 2,190 Animas River 36,711 La Plata River 9,739 Upper San Juan 9,137 Hammond Area 10,268 Farmers Mutual Ditch 9,532 Jewett Valley 3,088 Westwater 110 Subtotal 81,513 Total NM Irrigation Depletion 383,012 Non-Irrigation Depletions Navajo Reservoir Evaporation 27,397 Utah international 39,000 San Juan Power Plant 16,200 Industrial Diversions near Bloomfield 2,500 Municipal and Industrial Uses 8,453 Scattered Rural Domestic Uses 1,400 ** Scattered Stockponds & Livestock Uses 2,200 ** Fish and Wildlife 1,400 19