Plan of study for the regional aquifer systems analysis of the Upper Colorado River Basin in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Arizona

Water shortages are expected in the Upper Colorado River Basin because of increasing water demands for various uses.Ground-water supplies can help to reduce water shortages but ground-water reservoirs have not been studied in detail.The regional aquifer systems analysis of the Upper Colorado River Basin is a study of the major ground-water resources of the region.Aquifers occur in the sedimentary rock sequence in basins and uplifted regions, in volcanic-rock regions, and in stream-valley alluvium.The project work will include collection and compilation of existing geologic, geophysical, hydrologic, and geochemical data.These data will be used to designate and describe aquifers and to prepare simulation models.The models will be used to assess the hydrologic characteristics of the aquifer systems and to estimate the hydrologic effects of discharge from, or recharge to, selected aquifers.