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<br />3. <br /> <br />To insert into the model future mine plans as given by the <br />Land Reclamation Division to determine cumulative effects of <br />on dissolved solids in the streamflow. <br /> <br />Mined <br />mining <br /> <br /> <br />002452 <br /> <br />The Yampa River main stem serves as a conduit of water through the coal <br />region. The streams within the active coal area can be classified into two <br />groups--small tributaries and major tributaries. The small tributaries drain- <br />ing sedimentary-rock basins may contain naturally occurring large concentra- <br />tions of dissolved solids. In general, most mining activity takes place in <br />these small basins. The major tributaries, which receive water from the small <br />tributaries and carry it to the Yampa River, similarly drain basins underlain <br />by sedimentary rock. <br /> <br />Numerous mines are active, proposed, or mine expansions are contemplated <br />in the vicinity of Trout Creek (fig. 1), a major tributary to the Yampa <br />River. In reviewing proposed mine plans, the Mined Land Reclamation Division <br />must evaluate the cumulative impacts to the small tributaries, to the major <br />tributaries, and ultimately to the Yampa River main stem. A cumulative <br />evaluation is difficult because each mine plan is prepared and evaluated <br />independently with no standardized method available to combine the effects of <br />various plans. <br /> <br />This difficulty is particularly evident in an evaluation of changes in <br />the dissolved solids of the stream system which can be attributed to mining <br />activity. The changes in dissolved solids may be dramatic--both in small <br />tributaries and in major tributaries. In addition, any increase in dissolved <br />solids in the Yampa River main stem could have serious consequences on the <br />continuing problem of dissolved solids in the Colorado River. <br /> <br />A modeling study of the area was made by the U.S. Geological Survey for <br />the Mined Land Reclamation Division of the Colorado Department of Natural <br />Resources. This study is an initial attempt to construct a dissolved-solids <br />model of surface water in the Yampa River basin. The model will be used by <br />the Mined Land Reclamation Division to evaluate proposed mine development. <br />To meet planning needs, severe time constraints on model development and <br />evaluation were imposed upon the U.S. Geological Survey. Because of the time <br />limitations, assumptions were made where needed data were not available. <br />Also, the area to be modeled was reduced and focused only on the Trout Creek <br />basin because this area was of immediate concern to the State. Therefore, <br />using this particular model in the Yampa River basin is the first effort at <br />combining mine plans with water-resource information. <br /> <br />The overall objective <br />effects of mining on dissolved <br />ically the approach is: <br /> <br />of this report is to determine the cumulative <br />solids in the Yampa River basin. More spec if- <br /> <br />1. To develop a model of streamflow and dissolved solids focused on the <br />Trout Creek drainage and a reach of the Yampa River main stem. <br /> <br />2. To calibrate this model with existing data. <br /> <br />2 <br />