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<br />. <br /> <br />f\J <br />.... <br />c.c <br />00 <br /> <br />is usu211y less than 25 gpm and .more often closer to 5 or 10 gpm. <br />The above major formations are cemented mixes of sandstones. silt- <br />stones, and shale materials, Together with the Lewis and Mancos <br />shales, these bedrock aquifers offer a very low hydrologic conduc- <br />tivity, Only a few areas, such as near Craig where sandstone type <br />aquifers confined by impermeable shale units create artesian pressure, <br />yield amounts as high as 100 gpm. Artesian water is often found <br />in the Williams Fork Formation, its underlying unit (the lIes <br />Formation), or in Dakota Sandstone. Most well depths are 200 feet <br />or less (Brogden and Giles, 1977). <br /> <br />Bedrock aquifers produce calcium and sodium bicarbonate type <br />water from the dissolution of the sandstone and conglomerate cements <br />or from contact with gypsum; organic materials and coal add calcium <br />carbonate to the water. Table D.l summarizes the more important <br />water quality parameters of each of the geologic units. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The lower Yampa River area (through Dinosaur National Monu- <br />ment) possesses small to moderate quantities of ground water. <br />Primary aquifers include the Browns Park, Morrison, and Morgan <br />formations and the Entrada, Glen Canyon, and Weber sandstones. <br />Wells vary from 300 to 800 feet deep. The Glen Canyon Sandstone <br />produces up to 60 gpm to wells. One well in Echo Park, Dinosaur <br />National Monument (near the confluence of the Green and Yampa <br />Rivers), produced 130 gpm (Sumsion, 1971). <br /> <br />Alluvial aquifers along the upper Yampa River gene~al1y provide <br />a more abundant source of water. Well yields range from 5 to <br />several hundred gpm at depths of 8 to 100 feet. The alluvia are <br />relatively thin, typically around 20 feet, but alluvial reserves <br />can be supplemented by streambed flow-through from adjacent aquifers <br />to sustain yields. Water quality depends on the type of parent <br />material, but usually it is slightly alkaline (sodium or calcium <br />bicarbonate) or a calcium sulfate when in contact with Fort Union <br />Formation material. TIle average dissolved solids level is 724 mg/liter <br />(Brogden and Giles, 1977). <br /> <br />Outside of the Piceance Creek Basin and the lower White River, <br />little is kno~ of the ground water resources of the White River <br />Basin of Colorado. Inferring from the known hydrologic properties <br />of various geologic units, the area west of Meeker, Colorado, would <br />likely provide sizable (less than 600 gpm) amounts of water from <br />the Williams Fork (Sandstone) and Wasatch (claystone/siltstone/ <br />sandstone) formations (Boettcher, 1972). The Green River Formation <br />surrounds Piceance Creek Basin and extends into the Grey Hills of <br />Colorado; typical well yields are as hiah as 100 gpm or more in this <br />formation (Boettcher, 1972). West of the Yellow Creek-White River <br />confluence lie the Williams Fork and lIes formations, both of which <br />yield moderate amounts of water. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />.1 <br /> <br />D-11 <br />