Salinity Update
Salinity is damaging and will continue toplague the Colorado River system, the lifeblood of millions in parts of seven States and Mexico, UNLESS something ,s done.
Under the Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program, units now under study have the potential to intercept about 2 million tons of salt annually. Additional management or control measures are needed to meet year 2000 salt removal requirements to reduce ,millions of dollars in potential damages.
Salinity Update will keep you informed of the status of Water and Power's program for controlling the salinity, or mineral pollution, in the Colorado River Basin above Imperial Dam. Water users and others concerned with the Basin will find the over a II status of the program and some background information in this issue, along with a brief discussion of the authorized projects. The desalting plant at Yuma, below lmpenal Dam, will not be discussed; however, another newsletter on that topic, SALT TALK, can be obtained from the Lower Colorado Regional Office.
Future issues will explore more fully the status of individual control measures. relate significant activities, and explain how other government and local agencies help in the struggle tor salinity control. Your questions will be
answered, as space permits. and contributions from other organizations will be included. This is YOUR
newsletter. Let's make it what YOU want. Let's review lhe importance of salinity control. Al the headwaters of the Colorado River in the Rocky Mountain peaks, salinity is minimal: water contains about SO milligrams per liter (mg/L) total dissolved solids. Generally, dissolved mineral concentrations increase from the headwaters to the mouth. In western arid regions, such as the Colorado River Basin, this increase is intensified because there is little rainfall to leach the salts from the soil and rocks.
Today, because of the natural salt load. upstream water uses. and salt added by man through irrigation return flow, water
arriving at Imperial Dam near Yuma, Arizona, has an average annual salinity of about 820 mg/L. Estimates indicate that about half of the present salt levels in the Colorado River at Hoover Dam near Las Vegas are attributed to natural sources. The remaining half is man-induced as indicated in the pie-chart. To better understand the levels of salt concentration: drinking water should contain fewer than 500 mg/L of total dissolved solids: higher levels may affect the taste and the digestive system in some people. Depending upon the type of salts, water
-
containing more than 500...
US.
Department ofthe Interior
Water
and Power Resources Service
A
quarterly report
onthe
Colorado River Water
Improvement
Program
September 1980
mg/L begins causing economic losses to municipal and industrial users by corroding pipes and scaling water heaters. Water containing from 700 to
850
mg/L begins causing agricultural damages depending upon the soil conditions and lype of crops grown: farm yields decrease and production costs increase. mg/L Below 500 Above 500700-850
and above EffectGood drinking water M&l losses
Salinity Sources
-47%
Natural Sources
37%
Irrigation
-<
"'-
-
- - - ' - - - 1 2 %
Reservoir
For each milligram per hter that salinity
increases at Imperial Oam, total damages to crops and municipal water
users increase $450,000 annually. If the concentrations reach 1200 mg/Lor more by year 2000, as some have predicted, annual losses could amount to as much as $165 million. WITHOUT any control measures, mineral salts would continue to concentrate and agriculture in the Southwest could be drastically impacted
A question often asked 1s, 'What steps
does a project go through belore it can be constructed'" Although there is no
"typical" project this 1s generally how
the process works.
Evaporation
3%
Exports
1% M&I
Two technical challenges complicate the study and the implementation of salinity control: (1) identification and
quantification of water and salt movement processes and (2) brine
disposal. Water and Power is studying ground water and salt movement and.
where possible. implementing on-site
verification programs to assure control measures work as predicted. We are also
studying alternatives to current methods
of onsite brine disposal. One innovative
Total sequence. from the request lor
appraisal study to start of construction. will take about 7 years. Normally, the
appraisal report takes 1 to 2 years: it takes 3 to 4 years to complete the
Appraisal Feasibility Investigation Study &
Repo
rt
The actual schedules for salinity control 1-2 years 3-4 years
units are shown on the bar chart on
pages 4 and 5 of the newsletter and will be a regular feature.
·- ..!
option involves a pipeline collector study to use saline water to support energy developmenL These challenges will be discussed in future issues. The salinity problem has many complex issues with no single. encompassing solution. Man's future consumptive use of water will have the most direct impact on river salinity. Therefore, future program efforts will emphasize early
completion of control units to maintain salinity standards while consumptive uses expand to meet evolving needs. Water and Power is seeking cost-effective solutions to increased salinity in the Colorado River with the continued
support of the Colorado River Basin
States and other water users. With the assistance of the affected publics, industry. and other governmental agencies, it is
my
hope that the problemswe face will be refocused as opportunities.
M.J. Clinton
Chief. Colorado River Water Quality Office
feasibility investigations. report, and
environmental impact statement: and 1 to 2 years to do the Definite Plan Report.
Local sponsorship and interest is
necessary throughout this entire process.
Preconstruc -tion Planning 1-2 years 2 or more years
Salinit
y
C
o
ntrol Unit
s
To keep the salinity levels within the 1972 guidelines (now standards as adopted by the Basin States) set down by the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). the Congress passed Public Law 93-320, the "Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act" in 1974. Title I of this act authorized necessary actions to meet the 1973 water quality agreement with Mexico. The desalting complex being built below Imperial Dam near Yuma, Arizona, is one of the main features of Title I.
Title II authorized construction of lour salinity control units and directed Water and Power to expedite studies of other units, with assistance from other Federal
agencies. The act also provided for the naming of a Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Advisory Council comprised of members nominated by the Governors of the Basin States. Salinity Standards
723 mg/L Below Hoover Dam
747 mg/L Below Parker Dam 879 mg/L At Imperial Dam
The Colorado River Basin Water Quality Improvement Program and the salinity standards adopted by the States and approved by EPA contemplate continued development of water supplies while pursuing the most cost-effective control measures to offset the salinity increases. If conditions are as predicted in the year 2000, about 2.8 million tons of salt a year will have to be removed from the river to meet the goals
set in 1972.
The general types of saline water that Water and Power is auempting to control are classified as three sources:
Point -mineral springs, wells,
geysers, and mine drainage; Irrigation-deep percolating waters that
leach salts from saline for-mations; these waters may come from unlined canals
and laterals and excessive field applications;
Diffuse -combination of erosion, irrigation return flow, and small point sources: a tributary river basin is an
example.
Those units having a point source are LaVerkin Springs, Utah; Lower Virgin River, Arizona; and Glenwood-Dotsero Springs and Meeker Dome. Colorado.
Authorized units: Paradox Valley, Las Vegas Wash, and Crystal Geyser are also point sources.
Diffuse source control units are Big Sandy River, Wyoming; Dirty Devil River, Utah; and the Pric~an Rafael Rivers. also in Utah.
Irrigation source control units include the Uinta Basin of Utah, Palo Verde Irrigation District in California, and Lower Gunnison Basin and McElmo Creek in Colorado. The authorized Grand Valley unit also is an irrigation source.
II all units are constructed, almost 2 million tons of salt could be removed per year with a reduction at Imperial Dam of about 200 milligrams salinity per liter of
water.
•
Salt Removal Effects
Tons of Salt Re,mowed Removed by "1' Year
ln11,a1 Units 600.000 (authorized for
construclton) Point Sources 442,000 Irrigation Sources 345,000 Diffuse Sources 448,000 Active Units Total 1.835.000
PARADOX VALLEY UNIT
SALT Yt(lO 1 GALLON $Alf WATER
1 219000-AMAL!_SIS •GALlo.,IWAU-• t 22 ,ou,tOS SAU CHEMtCAl
co ..
r[HJ CM.OdCAl 'OIMUI..A N.A( l•
-.c<
•
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( 0 , . -"A•l a.USI'""'""'-"
,
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t,-w..··
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f'lllClfoll...
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Conot1'1tration Reduction al Imperial Dam (ffl91\.) 69 50 40 38 198-
....
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1963 1984 1985 1
PARADOX VALLEY UNIT DPR- Final EIS Conslruclion
'
LAS VEGAS WASH UNIT DPR-Final EIS Verification studies
CRYSTAL GEYSER Unit Deferred Indefinitely
GRAND VALLEY UNIT
STAGE 1 DPR--Draft EA. Envoron. -Neg. Del. Construction Full Operation GRAND VALLEY UNIT
STAGE 2
I
LAVERKIN SPRINGS Status Report Unit Deferred Pending Special Studies
Advance LOWER VIRGIN RIVER Feasibility Report-Final EIS
I
Review· Authorization Planning- DPR GLEf'!WOOD-DOTSERO AppraisalUNIT Report Feasibility Report-Final EIS Review" Author
PALO VERDE UNIT Special Report Status Report Verification studies
COLO RIVER INDIAN UNIT Special Report Status Report Unit Deferred I ndehnitely
-
Authori·UINTA BASIN UNIT Feas1biltty Report-Final EA
I
Review• zation Ac•
LOWER GUNNISON UNIT Feasfbility Report-Final EA Review· Authorization Advance Pl AuthOI
BIG SANDY UNIT Feasibility Report-Final EIS Review· zation
;
MCELMO CREEK UNIT Feasibility Report- Final EIS Review• Authorizahc
MEEKER DOME UNIT Problem ID & Quantification Verification studies
PRICE-SAN RAFAEL RIVER UNIT Feasibility Report-Final EIS I
I
DIRTY DEVIL RIVER UNIT Feasibility Report-Final EIS
PIPELINE COLLECTOR Appraisal
SYSTEM Report Feasibility studies
ENV. STATEMENTS Final EIS- CRWQIP Basinwide Statement Deferred
WATER QUALITY Status Draft Plan
SALINITY STANDARDS Report of Study Update Model Studies Update Update
-
.
B6 1987 19U 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Full Operation (could be 1983 or 1987 depending on method of disposal selected]
Construction Full Operation
-:ation Advance Planning- DPR Construction Full Operation
,ance Planning-DPR Staged Construction Full Operation
,ning-DPR Staged Construction Full Operation
r
Advance Planning- DPR Construction Full OperationConstruction Full Operation
leview· Authorization Advance Planning- DPR Construction Full Operation
Review· Authorizatior Advance Planning-DPR Construction Full Operation
Update Update Update Update Update
COLORADO RIVER WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM SCHEDULE August 1980
Auth
o
rized Unit
s
The four units authorized for construction are Grand Valley and
Paradox Valley in Colorado, Las Vegas Wash m Nevada, and Crystal Geyser in
Utah. The location of these and other
units under study are shown on the basin
map, along with the location of Hoover, Parl<er, and Imperial Dams, the salinity
standard stations.
Grand Valley encompasses about 122,000 acres near Grand Junction, Colorado. Almost two-thirds of the
valley is irrigated, which contributes about 780,000 tons of salt annually to the
Colorado River. Most of the salt is leached from the soil and underlying
marine shale by deep percolation and wate• delivery system losses. The unit will reduce the salt load by about 410,000
tons annually with an overall effect of
reducing the salinity at lmpenal Dam by
43m9fL
.
Water and Power will line the canals and
plans to place the laterals in pipe to reduce seepage. The Department of Agriculture will promote on-farm
improvements, including upgrading of
irrigation systems and irrigation
management. Water and Power also plans to provide a wildlife area and watering ponds to compensate for wildhfe habitat losses resulting from the canal and lateral improvement program.
Placing laterals in pipe and providing a
wildlife area is dependent upon
Congressional authorization since those
actions were not a part of the original
legislation.
Construction in stages will allow
investigators to verify effects of initial development while they continue
planning the rest of the unit. Lining part
of the main canal will begin this fall
under a $7.4 million contract awarded to Peter E. Kiewit and Sons in August 1980.
Paradox Valley in southwestern Colorado is a collapsed salt anticline
undertain by a salt dome. This dome adds about 205,000 tons of salt annually to the Dolores River via saline ground water as it crosses the valley. The unit is
designed to remove 180,000 tons a year
by pumping the saline ground water
(bnne-260,000 mg/L TDS) from a well field along the Dolores River, thus
preventing it from surfacing in the
riverbed.
A test well field has already been
installed as part of the design data collection program, and other facilities
required for brine treatment and
disposal will be added during unit
construction. Preliminary results of test
pumping of the well field are verifying
that the brine interception technique is effective in keeping salt from entering
the river.
Once the brine has been intercepted, it must be disposed of. Three options are being pursued simultaneously to
identify the most cost-effective solution. Evaporation in the proposed Radium Dam and Reservoir was the original alternative. The other two options under study are deep well injection and
intergration into a pipeline disposal system for possible energy related
objectives. (The pipeline collection system will be discussed in a future
issue.) This unit will result in a net decrease of salinity at Imperial Dam of
about 18 mg/L.
Las Vegas Wash discharges into the Las
Vegas Bay arm of Lake Mead. Industrial plants, secondary treated municipal
wastewater, and irrigation runoff water
contribute large amounts of dissolved
solids to the Lower Colorado River
through Las Vegas Wash. Past disposal
of wastewater from industrial and
sewage treatment plants into unlined evaporation ponds formed large saline ground water mounds. Industries
recently built lined ponds to hold subsequent saline flows. Early results of
monitoring programs show the ground
water mound is dissipating more rapidly than predicted; therefore, further studies are underway to verify hydraulic
assumptions and to insure the
compatibility of wastewater treatment
and salinity control strategies for the Las Vegas Valley.
Crystal Geyser is a pnvately owned abandoned oil test well south of Green River, Utah. A relatively minor amount of salt, about 3,000 tons annually. Is contributed to the Colorado River system from this geyser. To collect and carry the flows to a nearby lined
evaporation pond proved too costly for the small amount (about 0.3 mg/L) of salinify reduction. Therefore, we are
UTAH
Lower Virgin Rive.Unit
CALF
ve..Dam
• Colorado River Indian Reservation Unit
m
eTitle II Satinity Control Units
o
Initial Units Authorized forConstruction
ARIZONA
.
...
-
...
WYOMING
Big Sandy Rive, Unit
Meeker Dome
VaUeyUnit
COLO.
• Elmo Creek Unit
i .
-NEW
Program
A
dvisers
The Colorado River WaterOualily Office assists the Regional Directors at Salt Lake City and Boulder C,ty in
accomplishing salinity controls. As lead Federal agency for implementing Title II of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act. the staff works with Federal
agencies and state water management and pollution control agencies in an
advisory, management, and coordinating capacity.
M. J. Clinton, Chief. is very
knowledgeable about the Colorado River Basin having served in both the
Salt Lake City and Boulder City regional
offices. He came to Denver from the
Commissioner's Office. Washington. D.C .• where he was the senior staff assistant for special projects in the
Planning Policy Staff. In that position. he was responsible for developing Water
and Power's policy as it relates to
evolv1hg national priorities, particularly
1n the areas of water conservation and
Indian water resource development.
Michael B. Bessler, general engineer.
has worked in water resources planning,
M. J. Clinton
United States
Department of the Interior
\Yater and Power Resources Service
PO Box 25007
Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80225
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
desalting technology, and water quality for several years. Mike is currently studying possibiliti.,s for brackish water
use and disposal. He also has oversight responsibility on Big Sandy, Glenwood· Dotsero. LaVerkin Springs. Las Vegas
Wash, Meeker Dome. Lower Virgin River, Price-San Rafael Rivers. and Dirty
Devil River Units.
David H. Merritt, hydraulic engineer. came to the Water Quality Office from the Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg.
Miss,ss1ppi. Dave, a specialist in
reservoir chemistry and computer
modeling studies. is currently
coordinating activities of regional and
E&R Center personnel to implement a
new data base and computerized model for assessing the impact of water
developments and salinity control activities on downstream salinity. Note: Those of you who know Robert
Strand may wonder why his name was
not included here. He recently accepted
a position in the Planning Technical Services division "down the hall" in the Engineering and Research Center.
Michael B. Bessler
For questions concerning projects discussed in this newsletter. please
contact the Public Affairs Office in the
Region responsible for that project. Water and Power Resources Service
Upper Colorado Regional Office P.O. Box 11568
Salt Lake City. Utah 84147
Telephone: FTS 588-5403
Commercial: 801·524-5403
Water and Power Resources Service Lower Colorado Regional Office P.O. Box 427
Boulder City. Nevada 89005
Telephone: FTS 598-7420
Commercial: 702-293-8420
For answers to general questions or
items you would like to see included in
SALINITY UPDATE. write to: Editor, SALINITY UPDATE. 0·1000
Colorado River Water Quality Office
Water and Power Resources Service
P.O. Box 25007. Denver Federal Center
Denver, Colorado 80225
Telephone: FTS 234-4180
Commercial: 303·234-4180
David H. Merritt
.... ~. 0(•.AllTW•OST.AS( (.ANNO , l l S T O' 'l'NC •Al"'T(llIO .Oll ~ •
INT 4t0
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