The Blue River drains approximately 680 square miles west of the Continental Divide in central Colorado before flowing northward into the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado. The Blue River watershed (BRW) is almost entirely located in Summit County and includes the towns of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Montezuma, and Silverthorne. Dillon Reservoir and Green Mountain Reservoir are major water storage facilities in the watershed. The Blue River watershed upstream from Dillon Reservoir is in the Colorado Mineral Belt, a zone of economically significant metals deposits. Hard-rock mining was the major industry in this area from 1859 through the first half of the 1900s. With the development of ski areas beginning in 1945 and the construction of Interstate-70, Summit County has become a major four-season resort destination. Ski resorts such as Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Keystone have brought rapid population growth and increased tourism and development to the area.
Mineralized bedrock, historical mining activities, and more recent urban development related to population growth, tourism, second-home development, and recreation have affected water quality and aquatic biota in the Blue River watershed . High concentrations of trace elements can occur naturally from the weathering on mineralized rock and acid mine drainage. Septic and wastewater systems and runoff from developed lands can affect nutrient concentrations in water bodies, and highway sanding in winter can increase sediment loading to nearby streams. With these considerations, the USGS, in cooperation with the Summit Water Quality Committee, is conducting a study to compile and assess water quality in the Blue River watershed.
Specific objectives of the study are to:
- Develop a water-quality database (Data Repository) from available data in the Blue River watershed.
- Characterize available water-quality data for the watershed,
- Analyze historical data and describe the spatial and seasonal distribution and temporal trends of water-quality data, and
- Identify, describe, and explain, where possible, the natural and human factors that could be affecting observed water-quality conditions.
Below are other science projects associated with the Colorado Water-Quality Data Repository.
Upper Yampa Watershed Water-Quality Data
Eagle River Water-Quality Data
Piceance Basin Water-Quality Data
Upper Gunnison River Water-Quality Data
Southwest Study Area Water-Quality Data
Roaring Fork Watershed Water-Quality Data
Arkansas River Water-Quality Data
- Overview
The Blue River drains approximately 680 square miles west of the Continental Divide in central Colorado before flowing northward into the Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado. The Blue River watershed (BRW) is almost entirely located in Summit County and includes the towns of Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Montezuma, and Silverthorne. Dillon Reservoir and Green Mountain Reservoir are major water storage facilities in the watershed. The Blue River watershed upstream from Dillon Reservoir is in the Colorado Mineral Belt, a zone of economically significant metals deposits. Hard-rock mining was the major industry in this area from 1859 through the first half of the 1900s. With the development of ski areas beginning in 1945 and the construction of Interstate-70, Summit County has become a major four-season resort destination. Ski resorts such as Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Keystone have brought rapid population growth and increased tourism and development to the area.
Mineralized bedrock, historical mining activities, and more recent urban development related to population growth, tourism, second-home development, and recreation have affected water quality and aquatic biota in the Blue River watershed . High concentrations of trace elements can occur naturally from the weathering on mineralized rock and acid mine drainage. Septic and wastewater systems and runoff from developed lands can affect nutrient concentrations in water bodies, and highway sanding in winter can increase sediment loading to nearby streams. With these considerations, the USGS, in cooperation with the Summit Water Quality Committee, is conducting a study to compile and assess water quality in the Blue River watershed.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Photo of the Snake River at 9,000 feet, Rocky Mountains. Credit: Jeff Simley Specific objectives of the study are to:
- Develop a water-quality database (Data Repository) from available data in the Blue River watershed.
- Characterize available water-quality data for the watershed,
- Analyze historical data and describe the spatial and seasonal distribution and temporal trends of water-quality data, and
- Identify, describe, and explain, where possible, the natural and human factors that could be affecting observed water-quality conditions.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with the Colorado Water-Quality Data Repository.
Upper Yampa Watershed Water-Quality Data
The Upper Yampa River Watershed (UYRW) drains approximately 1,798 square miles west of the Continental Divide in northwestern Colorado. The Upper Yampa River Watershed includes the Yampa River Basin upstream from Elkhead Creek and the Elkhead Creek Basin and primarily is in Routt County. The city of Steamboat Springs and the towns of Hayden, Oak Creek, and Yampa are in the watershed. The Yampa...Eagle River Water-Quality Data
The Eagle River drains approximately 970 square miles (sq mi) west of the Continental Divide in central Colorado before flowing into the Colorado River. The Eagle River watershed (ERW) is located primarily within Eagle County and includes the towns of Vail, Minturn, Avon, Edwards, Eagle, and Gypsum. The eastern boundary of the Eagle River watershed is drained by Gore Creek, located at Vail Pass...Piceance Basin Water-Quality Data
As large-scale energy development continues in the Piceance Basin, there is potential for changes in surface-water and groundwater resources. In the southern Piceance Basin, a water task force consisting of numerous local governments, municipalities, and energy companies collectively identified the need for a common data repository. In the northern Piceance Basin, similar efforts were underway in...Upper Gunnison River Water-Quality Data
The Upper Gunnison River Watershed, located in the Rocky Mountains 150 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado, drains approximately 3,965 square miles. Forest and rangeland comprise 89 percent of land within the watershed, but the traditional western ranching economy is increasingly supplemented through a tourism economy centered around Crested Butte Mountain Resort and the Curecanti National...Southwest Study Area Water-Quality Data
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...Roaring Fork Watershed Water-Quality Data
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...Arkansas River Water-Quality Data
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... - Publications
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