Ground-Water Atlas of Colorado Special Publication 53

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Colorado Geological Survey DRAFT GROUND -WATER ATLAS OF COLORADO SP 5 rviuwnau uum nooson ana tsanta, iatu 0 100 Miles EXPLANATION Outcrop of Dakota Sandstone Outcrop of ��?m pre- Cretaceous rocks Average Hydraulic Conductivity (feet per day) 0.001 0.03 0.2 WATER USE /WUNDBAWALS The Dakota - Cheyenne aquifer provides a reliable source of water in most areas of Colorado. The DWR database contains over 27,500 potential wells of record in the aquifer. The locations of these wells and those utilized in related U.S. Geological Survey investigations are plotted on Figure 6.8 -1. The primary water use is for irrigation pur- poses and domestic water supply in southeastern Colorado and domestic use elsewhere. In some cases, municipal or industrial supplies may be developed in the Dakota - Cheyenne aquifer; however, restricted yields make it an unreliable high- volume produc- er in most areas. Its potential use is very dependent upon the chemical and physical characteristics of the water. Water temperatures in the aquifer range from 60 °F in the shallow portions to more than 200 °F below the Denver metropolitan area (Robson and Banta, 1987). 2.0 Yields from wells completed in the Dakota - Cheyenne aquifer sandstones are highly vari- able and are generally greatest in southeastern Colorado where the transmissivity and Limit of the storage coefficients are high. Domestic well yields commonly range from 5 to 50 gallons Dakota - Cheyenne per minute m g y p y' aquifer in subsurface p (gp ), and some irrigation wells in Baca Count are reported to field more Fault than 1,000 gpm (McLaughlin, 1954). Figure 6.8 -4. Average hydraulic conductivity values of the Dakota- Cheyenne aquifer in eastern Colorado. The Dakota — Cheyenne aquifer provides domestic and livestock water supplies throughout southeast- ern Colorado, where surface water is scarce. n 0 v J i;