Water Quality in the Upper Colorado River Basin, Colorado, 1996–98

By Norman E. Spahr, Lori E. Apodaca, Jeffrey R. Deacon, Jeffrey B. Bails, Nancy J. Bauch, C. Michelle Smith, and Nancy E. Driver

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 1214

The full report is available in pdf.  Links to the pdf.

A contribution of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program

• NATIONAL WATER-QUALITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
• SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS
  • Stream and river highlights
  • Ground-water highlights
• INTRODUCTION TO THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN
• MAJOR FINDINGS
  • Urban Development is a Water-Quality Issue Within the Southern Rocky Mountains
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Biological measures indicate that urban sites in the UCOL are less degraded when compared to other urban sites nationally
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Radon concentrations in UCOL ground water were generally higher than other areas of the Nation
  • The Quality of Streams and Rivers is Affected by Historical Mining Activities
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Trace elements in streambed sediments of the UCOL were often greater than concentrations found at other sites nationally
  • Water-Quality Characteristics of Agricultural Areas
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Herbicides commonly detected in the UCOL were also commonly detected in other agricultural areas nationally
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Nitrogen concentrations at the UCOL agricultural sites were greater than concentrations for many agricultural sites nationwide
  • NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE—Biological measures indicate that UCOL agricultural and Colorado Plateau mixed land use sites rank among the more degraded sites nationally
• STUDY UNIT DESIGN
• APPENDIX—WATER-QUALITY DATA FROM THE UPPER COLORADO RIVER BASIN IN A NATIONAL CONTEXT
• References
• A Coordinated Effort
• Glossary