Hydrology of the U.S. Army Pinon Canyon maneuver site, Las Animas County, Colorado

Von Guerard, Paul; Abbott, P. O.; Nickless, Raymond C.

Abstract:

The U.S. Department of the Army (Fort Carson Military Reservation) has acquired 381 sq mi of semiarid rangeland in southeastern Colorado for mechanized military maneuvers. The study area, known as the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, drains into the Purgatoire River, a major tributary of the upper Arkansas River. A multidisciplined hydrologic investigation began in October 1982. The primary aquifer in the Maneuver Site is the Dakota-Purgatoire. Well yields generally range from 10 to 500 gal/min. Dissolved solids concentrations in groundwater ranged from 195 to 6,150 mg/L. Streamflow in the Purgatoire River is perennial. Tributaries draining the Maneuver Site are intermittent or ephemeral and contribute only about 4.4% of the streamflow of the Purgatoire River downstream from the Maneuver Site. Flood frequencies were calculated by using the log Pearson III procedure and compared well with a regional estimating technique that was developed that uses physical drainage-basin characteristics. Calcium and sulfate are the predominant ions in the surface water of the area. Time-series plots indicate that instream water-quality standards for nitrate and metals are exceeded. About 80% of the suspended-sediment load is transported by rainfall runoff, which occurs less than 8% of the time. Ephermal tributaries contributed less than 25% of the suspended-sediment load transported to the Purgatoire River downstream from the Maneuver Site. Historic annual mean sediment yields were measured for 29 small watersheds. Sediment yields were measured for 29 small watersheds. Sediment yields ranged from 9.5 to 1,700 tons/sq mi. Sediment yields were estimated by a multiple-linear-regression model developed by using physical drainage-basin characteristics and by the Pacific Southwest Interagency Committee method. (USGS)

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USGS Numbered Series

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30300

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Von Guerard, Paul; Abbott, P. O.; Nickless, Raymond C.

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ENGLISH

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x, 117 p. :ill., maps ;28 cm.

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U.S. Geological Survey,

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Water-Resources Investigations Report

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WRI

Citation Series Number:

87-4227

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Hydrology of the U.S. Army Pinon Canyon maneuver site, Las Animas County, Colorado; 1987; WRI; 87-4227; Von Guerard, Paul; Abbott, P. O.; Nickless, Raymond C.

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1987

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citation/reference

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Hydrology of the U.S. Army Pinon Canyon maneuver site, Las Animas County, Colorado; 1987; WRI; 87-4227; Von Guerard, Paul; Abbott, P. O.; Nickless, Raymond C.