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<br />o <br />N <br />1'\:. <br />--J <br /> <br />levels in USBR no. 11 indicates a strong hydraulic connection to the Colorado River and no detect- <br />able hydraulic connec-tion to the Redstone 21-9 well. This is consistent with USBR no. 11's being the <br />closest monitored well to the river and the farthest from the production well. <br />This study clearly demonstrated that hydraulic connection exists between alluvium, the <br />Leadville Limestone, and the Colorado River at the Glenwood Springs test site. Within a radius <br />determined by the rate and duration of discharge, alluvial wells near a well discharging from the <br />Leadville Limestone will have lowered water levels; springs near the discharging well will discharge <br />water at decreased rates. The magnitudes of these declines generally can be expected to decrease with <br />distance from the discharging bedrock well. However, near the Colorado River, fluctuations in stage <br />also affect water levels in alluvial wells. Rises in river stage may prevent or diminish water-level <br />decreases in alluvial wells near discharging bedrock wells. Declines in river stage can prevent recov- <br />ery of water levels in alluvial wells after flow from a bedrock well has ceased. Thus, the water leveUn <br />an alluvial well near a discharging bedrock well and the Colorado River should be intermediate <br />between the levels expected because of proximity to either the bedrock well or the river. <br /> <br />S. Conclusions Drawn <br /> <br />By Eisenhauer u <br />Glenwood Springs Aquifer -- A salty aquifer located about 21.3 m (70 ft) below the ground <br />elevation of 1748 m (5735 ft) emerges as 14 identified springs in and near the Colorado River in the <br />vicinity of the town of Glenwood Springs. Here the Colorado River has a surface elevation of 1739 m <br />(5705 ft). The aquifer has a salt content of 22200 mg/L, or 2.2 percent, a temperature of 50 C (122 <br />F), and a pH of 6.3. When brought to the surface, the aquifer water effervesces from the escaping <br />carbon dioxide. <br />Major salt constituents. - IDS includes 88 percent sodium salt and 10 percent calcium salt. <br />Potassium and magnesium account for the other 2 percent salt. Anion composition includes 78 <br />percent chloride, 13 percent sulfate, and 9 percent bicarbonate salts. <br />About 60 percent of the calcium is bicarbonate, or temporary hardness, and 40 percent is <br />chloride, or permanent hardness. <br />Minor dissotved constituents. - Significant amounts of minor chemicals dissolved in aquifer <br />water include 1030 mg/L of carbon dioxide, 3 mg/L of fluoride, 40 mg/L of silica, 13 mg/L of stron- <br />tium, 0.7 mg/L of sulfide, and 4 mg/L of iron. About 7 mg/L of dissolved organic nitrogen compound <br />and 3 mg/L of total organic compounds were found. <br />Radioactivity. - Dissolved radioactive salts in aquifer water are well below hazardous levels. <br />However, exposure to gross beta levels that could be retained in recovered anhydrous salts might <br />exceed Federal Occupational Guide Limits of 5000 mrem/a. <br /> <br />By Geldon u <br />1. Twenty-seven geologic units of Paleozoic age in northwestern Colorado can be grouped <br />into eleven hydro stratigraphic units on the basis of lithologic and hydrologic properties. Regional <br />aquifers include the Devonian and Mississippian carbonate rocks hydrostratigraphic unit and the <br />Pennsylvanian and Permian sandstone hydrostratigraphic unit. Local aquifers in the study area include <br />the C1mbrian sandstone, Cambrian and Ordovician carbonate rocks, Mississippian carbonate and <br />clastic rocks, and Pennsylvanian and Permian red beds and carbonate rocks hydrostratigraphic units. <br />Confining layers in the study area include the Cambrian shale, Devonian carbonate and clastic rocks, <br />Mississippian and Pennsylvanian shale and carbonate rocks, Pennsylvanian carbonate rocks and <br />evaporites, and Permian shale and carbonate rocks hydrostratigraphic units. <br /> <br />A-IS <br /> <br />.L ..;;i <br />