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<br />N <br />~ <br />,... <br />N <br /> <br />which, will probably have high fluoride and boron concentrations also, <br />would have to be. treated hefore being applied to any, industrial use, <br />Lor before being discharged' to surface streams in the' case of excess <br />mine drainagel. <br /> <br />Since the oil shale resource (i.e., toe Mahogany Zone) lies between <br />the two aquifers in the Piceance Creek structural basin it is likely that <br />ground water will be an important consideration in the development of an <br />oil shale industry, whether used as a source of supply or not. For example, <br />dewatering of mines and underground retorts could produce amounts of water <br />significantly in excess' of a plant's consumptive 'use reuirements. Disrup- <br />tion of artesian conditions also has legal ramifications, as discussed <br />below, Finally, the quality of the ground water has cost implications <br />for its use and disposal, while preventing toe mixing of waters of differ- <br />ing quality in the upper and lower aquifers after mining of the Mahogany <br />Zone will he difficult. <br /> <br />Under Colorado law, one who uses or disrupts a ground water system <br />that is' tributary to Ci.e., discharges to) a natural surface stream must <br />ensure that the righ,ts of senior surface water appropriators are not <br />impaired. This means that use of the upper or lower aquifer (pince they <br />are interconnected) will be contingent upon the implementation of such <br />steps as may be necessary to either sustain the historic flow of the <br />natural springs that discharge to the Piceance and Yellow creeks or to <br />replace any water removed from'the surface stream system. <br /> <br />The monetary cost of olitaining ground water for us'e liy EETs will <br />be a function of the cost of drilling and fitting wells and of the cost <br />of pumping water to the surface. It is roughly estimated that such costs, <br />on a capitalized basis, would be only 5 to 10 percent as large as the <br />estimated costs of 'developing surface supplies from the White and Colorado <br />rivers. Although replacement water costs and the costs of dewatering and <br />treating excess mine drainage could De significant, it is clear that the <br />cost of ground water development may be competitive with surface water <br />development. <br /> <br />Uinta Basin, Utah. The Uinta Basin is a large artesian basin in <br />northeastern Utah, which extends from the Colorado border to the edge <br />of the Great Basin near Salt Lake City. The aquifer is presently in a <br />steady-state condition, with discharge equaling recharge. Estimates of <br />total water storage have not lieen made. <br /> <br />With respect to water quality, total dissolved solids concentrations <br />range from a high of 4,030 mg/l in the northeast portion of oil shale <br />tracts U-a and U-b to a low of 1,760 mg/l in the southwest portion. Hard- <br />ness also varies northeast to southwest from 1,000 mg/l to 69 mg/l. The <br />water is a sodium-sulfate-bicarbonate type. The high levels of sulfate <br />and hardness would require treatment for any industrial application. <br /> <br />1-7 <br />