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<br />~ECE.\\jE.O <br />GC\ <br /> <br />A" ~a\et~ <br />cd-G(a...." \. <br />The Mountain Ground. Water Resource Study will result in a tool for use by the <br />Jefferson County Commissioners and other local governments for making better <br />land use decisions aimed at the sustainable use of water resources in watersheds. <br /> <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Over the past 10-15 years the population within the Rocky Mountain States has increased greatly. <br />This growth has resulted in an increased density of habitation and residential land use in many <br />mountain watersheds. As the growth within watersheds continues, it is very important for Federal, <br />state and local governments, as well as the public, to work together to assure the sustainable use <br />of water resources within a watershed. Processes that control the occurrence, movement and <br />quality of surface and ground water are complex and dynamic in mountain settings (in many ways <br />more complex than in the neighboring plains). Surface water and ground water resources that <br />occur within a watershed are sensitive, or at risk from a number of land uses. Specific areas within <br />watersheds have different hydrogeologic characteristics and, as a result, can be quite different <br />with respect to the ability to provide sustainable use of ground water and/or. surface water. <br />Because of this complexity, it is very important to develop and utilize scientific and land <br />management tools to help manage water resources on a sustainable basis. It is most useful to <br />develop tools and approaches that are specific to the type of hydrogeologic setting (i.e., mountain <br />watersheds underlain by fractured rock). Because fractured rock hydrogeologic settings are so <br />complex, scientists are only now beginning to develop adequate methods for characterizing water <br />resources in these settings. This work has become more important as the Rocky Mountain <br />watersheds become more populated. <br /> <br />The USGS has completed phase one of a study in the Turkey Creek Watershed that presents a <br />methodology for characterizing the occurrence, movement and quality of surface and ground water <br />resources within a mount~in watershed. The study has been completed within a very strong <br />stakeholder process, with significant input from citizens and local government. The results of the <br />study will be far-reaching in that the methodology can hopefully be used by other stakeholder <br />groups and/or local, State and Federal governments to characterize other Rocky Mountain <br />watersheds underlain by fractured-rock aquifers. As federal and state environmental and land <br />management agencies and local governments are increasingly shifting to a watershed-based <br />approach to resource management, the results of these water resource assessments are essential <br />for effective, sustainable use of water resources. <br /> <br />Funding for the Mountain Ground Water Resource Study has come from a cooperative <br />arrangement between the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, and Jefferson <br />County. Funding has also come from the Colorado Water Conservation Board. The U.S. <br />Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII, has provided in-kind services of lab analyses, <br />which are valued at roughly $200,000. <br /> <br />The Study has already had positive spin-offs. Jefferson County has recently received three grants, <br />two from the EPA ($12k and $30k) and one from the Colorado Department of Public Health and <br />Environment ($40k), to expand on the work begun by the Study. <br /> <br />Additional spin-offs include graduate work at the Colorado School of Mines. Three masters' <br />degree candidates are working directly on the basin, and several other advanced degree <br />candidates are working on related topics. <br /> <br />MGWRS Water Study Report <br /> <br />Page 1 <br />