WSP05690

• File Number: 8407
• Description: Platte River Basin - River Basin General Publications
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 1/1/1978
• Author: Toups Corp
• Title: Water Resources Investigation in the South Platte River Valley - Reach Number 2
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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Ftom Hardin to Weldona, alluvial deposits of the South Platte

River Valley range in width from 3 miles to approximately 8 miles.

Thicknesses vary upward to 200 feet. Underlying material is

composed of the Fox Hills sandstone and Laramie formations and

t~e Pierre shale. Seepage from canals and reservoirs represents

t~e major source of recharge. To a lesser extent, recharge

o~curs from precipitation on the sand hills along both sides

of the valley.

In the Fort Morgan area, the principal aquifer is composed of

a~luvial deposits of the South Platte River and the lower reaches

o~ Badger Creek. Near the Narrows, the alluvium of the South

P]atte River is about 3 miles wide. It widens at the confluence

of Badger Creek and again at Beaver Creek. It decreases to about

3 ~iles wide in the vicinity of Prewitt Reservoir. Thicknesses

of the valley fill alluvium range from 50 feet in the Badger

C~eek valley to 280 feet near Fort Morgan. The Pierre shale
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fQrmation underlies the alluvium in this portion of the South

Platte valley.

wells penetrating the alluvium in the Fort Morgan area produce
la~ge yields, ranging from 400 to 1,600 gpm [Bjorklund & Brown,
19p7]. Specific capacity of most wells IS in excess of 100 gpm
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per foot of drawdown. Sources of recharge include seepage from
the agricultural water supply and distribution system, and
infiltration of precipitation.

BOK ELDER CREEK VALLEY

BOf Elder Creek, a southerly tributary of the South Platte,

intersects the river approximately 1 mile east of Kuner. The

drainage of Box Elder Creek and its tributaries is extensive.

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