Surface Water

Salinity and dissolved selenium are known water-quality impairments in the lower Gunnison River watershed of western Colorado. Salinity is a concern because of its adverse effects on agricultural land and equipment, and on municipal and industrial users. The Montrose Arroyo watershed in Montrose, Colorado, contains agricultural and residential areas as well as undeveloped land and has undergone...

In southwest Colorado, drought, wildfires, mining activities, agriculture, and population growth have altered the landscape from its natural condition. These changes have potentially degraded the water-quality of streams, rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater by introducing or increasing levels of metals, nutrients, synthetic organic chemicals, and sediment. Recognizing the need to understand how...

Pueblo Reservoir is one of southeastern Colorado's most valuable water resources. The reservoir provides irrigation, municipal, and industrial water to various entities throughout the region. The reservoir also provides flood control, recreational activities, sport fishing, and wildlife enhancement to the region. The Bureau of Reclamation is working to meet its goal to issue a Final Environmental...

Changes in land and water use associated with population growth and agricultural practices within the Arkansas River Basin are likely to affect water-quality on a local and, possibly, a basin-wide scale. To manage the limited water resources in the basin most effectively it is important to understand the processes that affect water quality within the basin and how future changes in land and water...

The St. Vrain River watershed in northeastern Colorado has experienced rapid urban growth over the last two decades. Population growth has led to increased volumes being treated at wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs) in the basin. In the last two decades, in-stream restoration efforts and new treatment technologies have been implemented by the City of Longmont, with the goal of improving water...

Baseflow will be determined for selected reaches in the South Platte River by using a mass-balance approach and possibly by modifying conventional baseflow analysis techniques.

Since the late 1800's, Colorado has experienced several periods of drought that have varied from about 2 to 12 years in duration. The Statewide drought from 1999 extended into 2002, a year characterized by lower than normal precipitation, snowpack accumulation, and streamflow. Statewide, mountain snowpack was about 53 percent of normal on April 1, 2002, the lowest since 1977 Accumulated...

The Roaring Fork Watershed, located in the Rocky Mountains 150 miles west of Denver, Colorado, has seen rapid development and population growth in recent years. The USGS, in cooperation with Pitkin County, Colorado Water Conservation District, Ruedi Water and Power Authority, and other local entities, conducted a comprehensive surface- and ground-water resource assessment in the Roaring Fork River...

Sulphur Gulch, a new reservoir proposed to be located about 25 miles east of Grand Junction, Colorado, on a tributary to the Colorado River that drains the Sulphur Gulch watershed between De Beque and Cameo, Colorado. The primary use of the Sulphur Gulch Reservoir would be to provide the Colorado River with up to 5,412.5 acre-feet of late-season water in support of the Endangered Fish Recovery...

The Lake Fork emerges from the outlet of Turquoise Lake at the Sugarloaf dam and flows approximately 5 miles before joining the upper Arkansas River. The first reach of the Lake Fork downstream from the dam is affected by drainage from abandoned mines in the Sugarloaf mining district. Whereas remediation of some of the mine sites has been initiated, Federal Land holders are interested in assessing...

The Arkansas River Basin drains an area of 24,904 square miles of southeastern Colorado. Like other basins on the Front Range, the Arkansas Basin has experienced growth and is expected to have significant increases in growth in the future. Demands on the limited water resources also will increase as changes in water storage, water releases, and/or transfer of waters within or outside of the basin...

In March 1985 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado River Water Conservation District (CRWCD), began a monitoring program on Muddy Creek in anticipation of the construction of a water storage project.