Selected data on water quantity and quality at four sites on streams draining public lands, Colorado River basin, southeastern Nevada, October 1988 - September 1991
The Nevada part of the Colorado River basin encompasses about 12,000 sq mi, of which 70 percent is public land. Water-quality monitoring stations existing before 1988 were at or near the mouths of tributaries flowing into Lake Mead on the Colorado River below multiple sources of dissolved solids. Thus, data were insufficient to assess what percentage of the overall dissolved-solids contribution to the Colorado River comes from public lands. To assess that contribution in southeastern Nevada, four streamflow and water-quality stations were established, one each on Pahranagat Wash, Muddy River, Meadow Valley Wash, and Las Vegas Wash. Streamflow data and specific-conductance data (an indirect, approximate measure of dissolved-solids concentration) were recorded half-hourly at Pahranagat Wash and Las Vegas Wash, and hourly at Muddy River and Meadow Valley Wash. In addition, water samples were collected during station visits and analyzed for instantaneous specific conductance and dissolved-solids concentration. Additional water samples were collected during selected periods of storm runoff. Data collected at the four sites from October 1988 through September 1991 are presented in tabular format in this report. These data provide information for characterizing the dissolved-solids contribution from public lands in southeastern Nevada to the Colorado River.