Water Quality

The water quality of the Vallecito Reservoir watershed in southwestern Colorado was initially studied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) during July 1996 to July 1997, in cooperation with the Pine River Irrigation District, to assess the suitability of the reservoir as a potential source of drinking water (Ranalli and Evans, 1999). As a result of this study, in December 1997 a group of residents...

The USGS has assessed the effects of increasing urbanization on ground- and surface-water resources in the Fraser River watershed. The population of Grand County increased 93 percent between the years of 1970 and 1990. The majority of the new development in the watershed will rely on ground water and individual septic disposal systems (ISDS's). This study has assessed the potential effects of ISDS...

Fluvial tailings deposits stored in the floodplain of the upper Arkansas River represent a potential nonpoint source of contamination to surface and ground waters. The U.S. Geological Survey has been cooperating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to monitor a lowcost, insitu remediation technique for the deposits.

The USGS Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative (AMLI) is developing and demonstrating scientific knowledge and technologies that will help Federal land management agencies clean up contamination in areas near abandoned hardrock mines across the Nation. The Initiative is being conducted in two pilot watersheds, the Upper Animas River Basin in Colorado and the Boulder River watershed in Montana, where the...