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AQUIFERS OF THE DENVER BASIN, COLORADO <br />aquifers of the Denver Basin. This is almost a three -fold <br />increase in wells penetrating the Denver Basin aquifers <br />since 1985. The distribution of these wells is shown in Fig- <br />ure 4. Total current withdrawals for the Denver Basin are <br />not available. Available county information indicates that in <br />1995 nearly 445,000 acre -ft of groundwater was withdrawn <br />in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, and Elbert counties, <br />which lie almost entirely in the Basin (Solley et al., 1998). <br />The county withdrawal volumes do not distinguish <br />between alluvial wells and the deeper aquifers and, there- <br />fore, cannot be compared directly to the 1985 volumes <br />cited above. Nevertheless, the sheer size of the annual <br />withdrawal volume appears to indicate a significant <br />Figure 4. Denver Basin <br />water well distribution <br />map. <br />acceleration in groundwater withdrawal from the Denver <br />Basin aquifers between 1985 and 1995. <br />Cross, C.W., F.F. Chisholm, R. Chauvenet, and P.H. Van Diest, <br />1884, The artesian wells of Denver: Colorado Scientific Soci- <br />ety, Proceedings, v.1, p.76 -108. <br />Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 1999, Denver Basin geo- <br />logic map: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, <br />< http:// www. dmns. org /denverbasin /cm_bedrock.html> <br />Accessed March 27, 2002. <br />151 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists <br />