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I i I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I acre-feet per year. It is estimated that the aquifer could sustain removal of an additional 2000 acre-feet per year over a long period of time. Lost Creek alluvium. Lost Creek alluvial aquifer is the largest of the three considered herein and is also the most intensely developed to date. Lost Creek heads in Township 4 South in northern Arapahoe County some 40 miles from the So"th Platte River and joins the South Platte Valley in Township 4 North near Deerfield. It is the northern portion of the basin, essentially that north of Interstate Highway 80S,,,hich has been considered as a potential water supply for the Morgan County Quality Water District. A sizable productive aquifer exists in this region and "ells capable of yielding up to 1500 gallons per minute can be obtained in the area of thickest saturation. Twenty-eight irrigation wells presently tap the Lost Creek alluvium north of Highway I-80S. The estimated ground-water consumptive use frow the 28 wells is about ,6700 acre-feet per year, which is somewhat less than the estimated 8000 acre-feet of the historical consump- tive use of ground water from the high water table. Thus, if existing irrigation wells are converted to supply domestic water, the Lost Creek alluvium very easily has sufficient supply to meet the District's potential needs. However, the longevity of the water quality is uncertain because of inferior water quality in the aquifer immediately upstream from Highway I-80S, and it would be necessary to remove land from irrigation. Hay Gulch alluvium. The Hay Gulch alluvium is the smallest as well as the least developed aquifer of the three discussed here. r'lY Gulch, an intermittent and poorly developed surface stream, tributary to the South Platte River heads in Township 1 North, Range 62 West, and trends in a northerly direction joining the South Platte River Valley near Deerfield. The entire watershed lies in eastern Weld County. The aquifer is quite narrow and has an estimated volume of ground water in storage of 60,000 acre-feet. Essentially the only use of ground water from the Hay Gulch alluvium to date has been for livestock supplies. Three irrigation wells have been drilled and two additional valid permits for irrigation wells exist. The underflow from the Hay Gulch alluvium into the South Platte River Valley alluvium is estimated to be about 3000 acre-feet per year (based on ground-water slope, cross-sectional area and estimated permeability). - 7- M. W. BITTINGER AND ASSOCIATES, INC.