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'./ ? JJ l4<~3 Development of ground water in the Grand Junction area is much leSs extensive, and the quantity of water being with- drawn is much less than in the Denver area. '!'he area of sub- stant~a1 water-level declines is less than 5 sqQara miles. 'the artesian \'iells tapping tbe Late Jurassic Entrada sandstone or the Late Triassic wingate sandstone flowed from less than 1 to 20-30 gpro when drilled. As the number of wells and the withdrawal rate increased, the artesian pressure declined (in some places about 100 feet). Although many of the wells still flow. some have stopped flowing, and most are now pumped at rates of a few gi1llons per minute to a few tens of gallons per minute. MOst of the wells are in Orcllard Mesa and the Redlands, which border the southwestern sic1e of the Colorado River, but a -few are northeast of the river in and near Grand Junction. A few of the wells in these areas are spaced far enough apart that their artesian pressures have been little affected. 1\ few wells scattered throughout the area tap other aquifers and have not experienced appreoiable declines in artesian pressure. T'hese include tbe Salt wash sandstone member of the Late Jurassic Morrison formation, the CretaceOUS Dakota sandstone and Burro canyon fo:rmat1on: in most places, however, the latter two forlll/llc;.iona yield sa Ity water. Water froJII the extensively developed aquifers generally is considered to be of excellent quality for dow~stic use. Trends in population and industrial growth and the potential availability of water from other consolidated artesian aquifers suggest few, if any, areas that may beCOlllG extensively developed in the foreseeable future. However, local problems may occur any place wilera t."WO or ltIOre wells are closely spaced. Large withdrawals of water from artesian aqllifers generally haVe far-reaching effects on water levels--tbe effects often extend several miles, cc>>-opared to several hundred feet in unconsolidated aquifers.