Field screening of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota associated with irrigation on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation, eastern Utah, 1995
Year: 1998
Type: report
Abstract: Field screening of water quality, bottom sediment, and biota was done by the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during 1995 at selected sites on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation of eastern Utah to determine if irrigation or project mitigation water delivered by the U.S. Department of the Interior caused adverse effects on fish and wildlife resources or on human health.Generally, the water was hard and ranged from calcium bicarbonate to sodium sulfate types in composition.Dissolved-solids concentration in water from 40 percent of the sites exceeded the State agricultural standard of 1,200 milligrams per liter.The high concentration of dissolved solids could adversely affect some agricultural crops but was not hazardous to waterbirds.High temperatures and widely fluctuating dissolved-oxygen concentrations in water samples collected from several sites failed to meet Utah class 3A or 3B standards for aquatic wildlife protection, particularly those samples collected in August.Concentrations of dissolved boron exceeded the agricultural standard of 750 micrograms per liter at 12 sites and the recommended maximum of 5,000 micrograms per liter for livestock water at 3 sites.Dissolved uranium, expressed as alpha radiation, was 68 picocuries per liter in seepage entering Bottle Hollow Reservoir and exceeded Utah waterquality standards for drinking water supply, wildlife protection, and agricultural use.Generally, trace elements, organochlorine residues, and polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (commonly referred to as PCBs) were not detected in biota at potentially hazardous concentrations.Concentra-tions of selenium generally were small; however,
DOI: 10.3133/wri984161
Authors: D. W. Stephens, Bruce Waddell
Language: English
Subfield: Water Science and Technology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Funder: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
OpenAlex ID: W111496202