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t:'> -.I """ o Ground water supplies are small to moderately large in the lower White River area of oil shale tracts U-a and U-b.' Average flow rates from the primary aquifer are nearly 30 gpm. One test well produced 700 gpm, however. The aquifer is estimated to have nearly 80,000 acre- feet of storage. Amounts of ground water in oil shale tracts in ~ ',,:,,, both Colorado and Utah are, of course, very site-specific, llo~;'iflg f~om1 almost none to more than can be economically handled in processing of the shale. ~{f~~ ~:r<L.- Ground water supplies uaLy from poor to moderate along the main stem of the Colorado River west of Glenwood Springs; but farther down- stream, near Grand Junction, Colorado, ground water resources are small and ,usually yield less than 10 gpm to wells. The basins of the Gunnison and Dolores rivers have been poorly reconnoitered for ground water. Dakota Sandstone, Mancos Shale, and the Morrison Formation are common geologic units here. The Dakota Sandstone and Morrison formations may be promising sources of ground wa te r. Common well yields in the San Juan River Basin of New Mexico are generally small; however, deeper, more costly wells drilled by energy companies may provide up to several thousand gpm in the sandstones of the eastern part of the San Juan River Basin (fig. 3.6). The Morrison Formation in the region of Hunters Wash could produce well yields of at least several hundred gpm. West of the Chaco River in Arizona, the Navajo Sandstone and Coconino Sandstone could supply a pot'entially large amount (up to 1,000 gpm) of ground water to deep wells. Esti- mated total ground water storage in the San Juan River Basin is about 257 maf, of which 255 maf is slightly saline. ,)".:!;~ '." ."' ,': '..;~. .~.;. ... Present Uses The ground water in the Region is little used at present. Many of the aquifers show promise, but the general lack of knowledge con- cerning their extent, quality, and the ground/surface water interface creates uncertainities which discourage development. The water rights system, discussed elsewhere in this report, does !lot appear to constrain present ground water uses. The U.S. Geological Survey (Welder, 1978) notes that potential needs and uses of ground water in northwestern Colorado are undeter- mined but could be significant. It is emphasized that "the location of important ground water resources must be determined before choosing the sites where water is to be used--for obvious reasons." 3-26