Irrigation drainage: Green River basin, Utah

A reconnaissance of wildlife areas in the middle Green River basin of Utah during 1986-87 determined that concentrations of selenium in water and biological tissues were potentially harmful to wildlife at the Stewart Lake Waterfowl Management Area and in the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge. Concentations of selenium in irrigation drainage entering Stewart Lake ranged from 14 to 140 micrograms per liter; liver tissue from coots collected from the lake contained selenium concentrations of as much as 26 micrograms per gram and samples of tissue from carp contained as much as 31 micrograms per gram. Concentrations of selenium in a pond at the Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, which receives irrigation water and shallow ground water, were as much as 93 micrograms per liter. Liver tissue from coots collected from this pond contained selenium concentrations of as much as 43 micrograms per gram; eggs of water birds contained as much as 120 micrograms per gram.