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Depending on the site, these effects may be severe enough to <br />cause either erosion or sedimentation in both upstream and <br />downstream areas. At the High Creek site, for example, the <br />stream reach above the excavation area is incised into the valley <br />bottom as much as six feet. It is not certain whether this is <br />entirely the result of the peat excavation, or is partially the <br />result of a dam not far upstream. However, the effects of peat <br />extraction on drainage, erosion, and sedimentation in off -site <br />areas should not be overlooked. <br />4.2.2 Chemistry of Water from Excavated and Non - Excavated <br />Peatlands. <br />Water samples were collected from a total of four peat <br />excavation sites in Park and Gilpin counties. The samples were <br />collected from areas both upstream and downstream of the <br />excavations in an attempt to discern water quality changes <br />resulting from excavation of the peat. The four sites included <br />Sacramento (Park Co.), Carpenter (Park Co.), Windmill (Park Co.), <br />and Eureka Gulch (Gilpin Co.). Because of a lack of storm events <br />during the sampling period all of the samples were collected <br />during baseflow conditions. A limited sampling budget restricted <br />the number of samples that could be collected to a total of <br />twelve. Due to site characteristics the twelve samples were not <br />collected evenly over the four sites; Sacramento, 4 samples; <br />Carpenter, 3 samples; Windmill, 3 samples; Eureka, 2 samples. <br />40 0 <br />