mm San Juan Watershed Monitoring Program Department of Public Health b Environment ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BACKGROUND Water resources in the San Juan watershed, which encompasses the San Juan and Animas Rivers and Lake Powell, are essential for providing drinking water for people and animals, recreating, growing crops, and other cultural uses. Potential contamination sources within the watershed include historic mining activities that disturbed the land and exacerbated naturally occurring levels of metals and mineralization. Other con- taminants include nutrients and bacteria from human or animal waste,, or agricultural runoff. In 2016, under the Water infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WliN) Act, the U.S. Congress authorized appropriations of $4 million per year in 2017-2021 for a long-term water quality program for the San Juan watershed. Under WIIN, and other legal authorities, EPA and the states and tribes within the watershed—Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Southern Ute Indian Tribe—are working together to: Monitor water quality throughout watershed Assess the best data and literature to understand data gaps, identify potential water quality problems, and identify actions to address those water quality problems. Inform the public on the condition of the watershed relevant to various state and tribal uses of the water and state- and tribe-specific decision-making for the watershed. o Act on identified water quality problems using the best data and science ------- UTAH San Juan River Animas River Southern Ute Montrose M .1,.'.. 'owe//. .Navajo Lake¦ SAN JUAN WATERSHED AND ENCOMPASSING RIVERS The Animas River originates in the mountain peaks northeast of Silverton, Colorado, it flows southward and into the San Juan River in Farmington, New Mexico. The San Juan River originates in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. It flows westerly into New Mexico and is detained in the Navajo Reservoir by the operation of the Navajo Dam in northern New Mexico. The river continues into southern Utah and ultimately terminates in Lake Powell in Utah. Lake Powell is a manmade reservoir on the Colorado River, along the Utah- Arizona border. , v,' COLORADO 1 Farmington, NM i/: ¦ sr StSfes Navajo Nation kj /'¦ AH NEW MEXICO PROGRAM OVERVIEW The San Juan Watershed Program relies on collaboration among the seven states and tribes within the watershed, in cooperation with their local counterparts. Through the program, federal, state, tribal, and local partners evaluate needed actions based on the growing body of informa- tion and data available on the watershed. The Program also helps identify opportunities for future collaborative efforts to maintain the health of the watershed. Some of these actions span the entire watershed. Others are focused research efforts concentrated in one area of the watershed but may be expanded to other areas in the future, depending on their outcomes. Additionally, states and tribes are carrying out actions designed to ad- dress issues specific to a portion of the watershed within their boundaries. EPA maintains a San Juan Watershed Program website that provides; • information on the current condition of the watershed relative to various uses • A compilation of resources, data, and other materials specific to the watershed • Descriptions of the various projects funded under this Program ------- SAN JUAN WATERSHED PROGRAM PROJECTS Purpose Project Use Assess and evaluate existing water quality standards for water used for livestock and agricultural irrigation to evaluate the need for new or revised water quality standards (Navajo Nation). $ Evaluate the effects of metals in the Animas and San Juan Rivers water on the attainment of water quality standards for livestock watering and crop irrigation (NMED). Sample fish in the Animas and San Juan Rivers to determine the presence of select metals, organlcs, and emerging contaminants (Navajo Nation). <•- investigate the sources, and their contribution, of contaminants of concern in tributaries.to the San Juan River (Navajo Nation). Evaluate the natural annual variability of benthic macroinveftebrates in the Upper Animas River and develop correlation relationships between benthic maaoinvertebrate metrics and metals exposure (CDPHE). Identify and delineate the extent of cultural uses of Animas River waters to understand how contaminants may affect tribal uses (SUIT), O 'E Evaluate connectivity.between surface water and groundwater along the Animas River (NMED and CDPHE). i o 2 Identify metals or other constituents ofconcefn in the Lake Farmington Reservoir sediment and evaluate concentrations of deposited metals (NMED). t Conduct Lake Powell sediment coring study to better understand the concentration, loading, distribution, bioavailability and source of metals in the lake and evaluate impact's on water quality, human health, and aquatic life (UDEQ). Maintain sondes throughout the watershed to provide reaLtime data that can inform management decisions, including closure of drinking waterintakeS (EPA on behalf of states and tribes, CDPHE). Deliver Suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and total metal concentrations and loads in near real time: using acoustic Doppler velocity meters (ADVMs) to correlate sound waves to SSC. Develop correlation between SSC and total metals to compute total loads to Lake Powell (UDEQ). Use mobile sondes along the Animas River to relay data remotely via Cell phone of satellite signal to Tribal servers for public access via a website (SUIT). Collect water, sediment, and biological samples to better understand the condition of the watershed (EPA on behalf of states and tribes). 3^ ------- Purpose Develop a San Juan Watershed Assessment and Information Synthesis based on information available to date (EPA). Evaluate a watershed-wide modeling effort in the San Juan River drainage to provide a framework to identify areas of importance for resource prioritization and implementation of best management options to restore water quality (UDEQ). Develop the EPA Program websiteifactsheets, resource library, and other comprehensive outreach materials to support the Program, and EPA (EPA). Develop UDEQ Program website (UDEQ). E O Develop a San Juan Watershed Assessment and Information Synthesis based on information avail- able to date to communicate watershed condition relative to designated use (EPA). Establish and support a Silverton, CO-based communications and outreach liaison position (CDPHE). Support the Water Resources Research Institute in New Mexico in the development and execution of the third, fourth, and fifth annual conferences on the San Juan Watershed (NMED). o < Explore the convening of a possible watershed group(s) to lead the San Juan Watershed Program at the end of WDN Act funding (UDEQ). w * ( Agriculture Aquatic lift Cultural Drinking water Recreation EPA 908-F-19-001 FEBRUARY 2020 https://www.epa.gov/saniuanwatershed ------- |