Water-quality, streamflow, and temperature data to inform groundwater/surface-water interactions within the Cement Creek watershed, San Juan Mountains, Colorado

The Upper Cement Creek watershed in southwestern Colorado hosts extensive acid mine drainage and naturally occurring acid rock drainage. Between 2022 and 2024, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, completed synoptic tracer-injection studies and monitored water temperatures in order to evaluate spatial and temporal changes in connectivity between groundwater and surface water and to understand metal loading. This diverse dataset aids in providing a complete hydrologic and geochemical conceptualization of the processes occurring in the mine workings and adjacent groundwater, and serves as an example of applications to other sites. This data release contains data pertaining to water quality, streamflow, and water temperatures collected by USGS. All synoptic tracer injection and associated water-quality data are in child item "Synoptic tracer and water quality" and all water temperature data are in child item "Water temperature".