Review of Colorado River Quality Standards
The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum has reviewed the water quality standards on the Colorado River with respect to salinity. The findings of the Forum have been published in the 2002 Review, Water Quality Standards for Salinity, Colorado River System, June 2002 (Proposed). That document is available by phoning or writing the Forum offices. The phone number is 801-292-4663 and the address is 106 West 500 South, Suite 101, Bountiful, Utah 84010.
The Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum is an organization of the seven Colorado River Basin states and federal water quality laws require that at least once every three years a review be made of adopted water quality standards. The proposed 2002 Review finds that there is not now a need to modify the numeric criteria. The numeric criteria, established in 1974, provide that a program will be developed to prevent the total dissolved salts in the Colorado River from rising above the observed levels in 1972 at three downstream measuring points. Those points are: on Lake Mead where Las Vegas obtains much of its water supply; on Lake Havasu where the Central Arizona Project and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California obtain their water supply; and at Imperial Dam, the last diversion of Colorado River water in the United States where residents in the general Yuma area and water users in California's Imperial Valley divert water.
The 2002 Review identifies a plan of implementation to prevent salinity levels from rising above the historic levels. There is almost an unlimited supply of salts in marine shales that occur in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The plan of implementation identifies strategies to reduce the dissolution of those salts as the salinity of the river is damaging to water users in the Lower Basin in the amount of hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
The Forum also adopts, from time to time, policies and has adopted policies relating to the discharge permits through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. These policies are published every three years in the Review. This year the Forum proposes changes in an NPDES policy. The proposed changes are included in the Review as Appendix D. The proposed changes are intended to control the discharge of salt from municipal and industrial sources and the changes are being considered at this time as anticipated energy development may result in the collection of saline ground water.
Those wishing to comment on the 2002 Review or the proposed change in NPDES policy can send their written comments to the Forum offices by addressing their comments to:
Colorado River Basin Salinity Control ForumThe deadline for the submittal of written comments is that the comments must be in the Forum offices by noon on September 5, 2002, or the written comments may be hand delivered to five public meetings which have been scheduled where also oral comments will be received.
106 West 500 South, Suite 101
Bountiful, UT 84010
The public meetings are as follows: August 13 at 7:00 p.m. in Rock Springs, Wyoming in Room 1302 of the Western Wyoming Community College Building at 2500 College Drive; August 14 at 7:00 p.m. in Montrose, Colorado at the Montrose Pavilion Auditorium at 1800 Pavilion Drive (at Niagara); August 15 at 7:00 p.m. in Price, Utah at the County Commission Chambers, 120 East Main; September 4 at 7:00 p.m. in Farmington, New Mexico at the Farmington Civic Center at 200 West Arrington; and September 5 at 2:00 p.m. in Phoenix, Arizona at 500 North Third Street in the Arizona Department of Water Resources offices in Conference Rooms A & B (Third Floor).
At each of the public meetings, the meeting officer will first hear oral comments about the 2002 Review. Upon completion of those comments, he will then request comments specifically on the proposed changes to the NPDES policy.
The Salinity Control Forum will be reviewing all comments and will be considering the opportunity for publishing a final report which will respond to the comments made concerning the 2002 Review document and the proposed NPDES policy. Once the Forum has completed this process, the individual states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming will proceed with the adoption of the 2002 Review and transmitting that review to the EPA for it's consideration and approval.
The 2002 Review below is in .PDF format which require the Adobe Acrobat Reader for you to view. If you do not have
the Adobe Acrobat reader, it is available FREE for various platforms, PC, MAC, Unix,
etc. To download a copy click the Adobe icon ...
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 | 2002 Review - Water Quality Standards for Salinity, Colorado River System (Proposed) |