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<br />...... <br />-.J <br />00 <br />~ <br /> <br />AN ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF LOCAL <br />GROUND WATER DEVELOPMENT 'ON THE <br />GLENWOOD SPRINGS HOT SPRINGS LODGE AND POOL <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />This report describes an investigation into potential impacts from the development of bedrock <br />ground water in the vicinity of the City of Glenwood Springs on the Yampa Spring, the main <br />spring that supports the Glenwood Springs Hot Springs Lodge and Pool (Pool). Recently, the <br />Mission Energy Co., has expressed ,an interest in developing local geothermal resources for the <br />sale of heat and salts through one or more wells drilled into the same ground water source <br />that feeds the Yampa Spring. This report examines available data in private and public <br />reports, utilizes field measurements of Yampa Spring flow, applies aquifer coefficients <br />developed from extensive testing and observations of water levels in nearby wells, and <br />presents conclusions and opinions regarding the degree of potential impact of the proposed <br />development on the flow of the Yampa Spring. <br /> <br />SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS <br /> <br />The source of water to the Yampa Spring is ground water that is discharged to the land <br />surface from the Leadville Limestone and through the Wright Fault. The spring water is <br />derived from recharge primarily from the area southeast and southwest of Glenwood Springs, <br />that has percolated through the Eagle Valley Evaporite (Evaporite) into the Leadville <br />Limestone (Leadville). Regional ground water gradients direct the flow of water toward <br />Glenwood Springs where the Leadville has been exposed or is nearly exposed to the land <br />surface, and has been extensively folded and faulted. The heat source for the water may be <br />a combination of the natural geothermal gradient and a buried heat source with which the <br />water has come into contact. Flow of the Yanlpa Spring ranges from around 2000 gallons per <br />minute (gal/min) to as much as 3500 gal/min, depending on the method of operation of the <br />spring by the Pool. The entire flow of the Yampa Spring has been developed by the Pool for <br />commercial-type uses. Rights to the Yampa Spring and other springs were decreed in District <br />Court, Case Nos. 1416 and 1548 and Water Court, Case Nos. W-2377-78 and 81CW415. <br /> <br />- 1 - <br /> <br />I Bishop-Brogden Associates, Inc. <br />