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Publications

Below is a list of available Colorado Water Science Center publications and published products.

Filter Total Items: 762

Transport of reacting solutes in rivers and streams

In this chapter we discuss the major processes affecting solutes in rivers and streams. Here a solute is generally defined as any substance or entity that is transported downstream by the flowing waters. Under this definition, solutes may be pollutants, such as pesticides and hydrocarbons, or naturally occurring substances such as dissolved gases, nutrients, and trace elements. Study of the proces
Authors
Robert L. Runkel, Kenneth E. Bencala

Denver's urban ground-water quality: Nutrients, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds

A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program characterized the ground-water quality in a part of the Denver, Colorado, metropolitan area. The study provides an assessment of water-quality conditions in an alluvial aquifer that drains into the South Platte River. Thirty wells randomly distributed in residential, commercial, and indu
Authors
Breton W. Bruce

Are streams in agricultural and urban areas contaminated by pesticides?

To answer this question, a study of pesticides in streams in a small agricultural area and a small urban area in Colorado was conducted in 1993 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. The results indicate that pesticides are present in streams, and both agricultural and urban areas are probable sources of the contamination. In the agri
Authors
R. A. Kimbrough

Some bacteria are beneficial!

Most people would agree that bacteria usually spell trouble where the quality of drinking water is con cerned. However, recent studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program have shown that some bacteria can improve the quality of water.
Authors
Peter B. McMahon

Characterization of selected radionuclides in sediment and surface water in Standley Lake, Great Western Reservoir, and Mower Reservoir, Jefferson County, Colorado, 1992

Lake sediment and surface water from Standley Lake, Great Western Reservoir, and Mower Reservoir, near Denver, Colorado, were sampled and analyzed for selected radionuclides during August through October, 1992. Sample concentrations were summarized and compared to results from a study conducted in 1983-84. Median plutonium-239,240 (239,240Pu) concentrations in lake-sediment grab samples from Stan
Authors
D. W. Clow, D. A. Johncox

Bibliography, indices, and data sources of water-related studies, upper Colorado River basin, Colorado and Utah, 1872-1995

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program, current water-quality conditions in the Upper Colorado River Basin in Colorado and Utah are being assessed. This report is an initial effort to identify and compile information on water-related studies previously conducted in the basin and consists of a bibliography, coauthor and subject indices, and sources of avai
Authors
N.J. Bauch, L.E. Apodaca

Nutrients in the South Platte River, 1993-95

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of its National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program has been collecting and analyzing water samples from streams in the South Platte River Basin in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming to characterize the water-quality conditions within the basin. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) have been a focus of this sampling effort because of their pote
Authors
David W. Litke

Composition of precipitation, bulk deposition, and runoff at a granitic bedrock catchment in the Loch Vale watershed, Colorado, USA

The chemical composition of precipitation, bulk deposition, and runoff from a 30-m2 granitic bedrock catchment in the Loch Vale Watershed in Rocky Mountain National Park was monitored over a 6-week period in the summer of 1994 to determine the importance of dry deposition in the alpine zone. Concentrations of acid anions and base cations were 1.1 to 4 times higher in bulk deposition than in precip
Authors
David W. Clow, Alisa Mast

Plan of study to determine the effect of changes in herbicide use on herbicide concentrations in Midwestern streams, 1989-94

An approach was developed to determine if recent changes in the use of herbicides has affected herbicide concentrations in Midwestern streams. This approach also provides a plan to determine if the abnormally high rainfall and flooding in 1993 has an effect on nitrate concentrations in 1994 in streams that flooded in 1993. The approach involves sampling 53 stream sites, 50 of which were sampled in
Authors
Donald A. Goolsby, Laurie L. Boyer, William A. Battaglin