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West Elk Mine 2014 Annual Hydrology Report 14 <br />3.1.1 Upper North Fork Drainage Basin <br />- Surface Water Monitoring Stations <br />3.1.1.1 Deep Creek (Upper, Lower) <br />Deep Creek is a perennial stream drainage that is tributary to Raven Gulch (Section <br />3.1.1.2). The Upper Deep Creek monitoring station does not have a flume or data logger <br />and is located up -gradient of the southeast B -seam longwall panels area (southeast mine <br />panels area) and down -gradient of the South of the Divide (SOD) E -seam longwall panels <br />area (SOD mine panels area). The Lower Deep Creek monitoring station does not have a <br />flume or data logger and is located down -gradient of the southeast mine panels area and <br />is directly east of the West Flatiron and Box Canyon mine panels area (Map 2). In 2006, <br />the flow monitoring at the Deep Creek monitoring sites was changed from continuous <br />flow recording to instantaneous recording three times a year. This change was made for <br />two reasons: mining in this area was nearly complete and the Deep Creek stream channel <br />is highly variable, resulting in continuous flow data that were unreliable and that did not <br />represent actual conditions. Hydrologic monitoring at the Upper and Lower Deep Creek <br />monitoring stations began in 1996. <br />3.1.1.2 Raven Gulch (Upper, Lower) <br />Raven Gulch is a perennial stream that drains the West Flatiron mine panels area and is <br />tributary to the North Fork. The Upper Raven Gulch monitoring station was established <br />in 2005 and is located upstream from the confluence with the West Flatiron drainage. <br />The Lower Raven Gulch monitoring station was established in 2005 and is located at the <br />mouth of Raven Gulch, near its confluence with the North Fork. Neither of the Raven <br />Gulch monitoring stations have a flume or data logger. The locations of these monitoring <br />sites are depicted on Map 2. Hydrologic monitoring at the Upper and Lower Raven <br />Gulch monitoring stations began in 2005. <br />3.1.1.3 Box Canyon <br />Box Canyon is an ephemeral drainage. The upper reach of the drainage is typically dry <br />and the lower reach of the drainage only flows during storm events and during the spring <br />months in above average precipitation years. The Box Canyon monitoring station is <br />located at the mouth of the drainage and was established to monitor the area down - <br />gradient of the Box Canyon B -seam longwall panels area (Box Canyon mine panels area) <br />(Map 2). There is no flume or data logger in Box Canyon and hydrologic data have been <br />collected at this site since 1999. <br />3.1.1.4 North Fork Upper <br />The North Fork is a major perennial stream that drains the northern area of the mine site. <br />The North Fork Upper monitoring station is at the site of the USGS gaging station (North <br />Fork Gunnison River near Somerset, CO, USGS 09132500), located up -gradient of the <br />mine facilities area and up -gradient of the mine discharge points. The underground mine <br />water discharge flows into Sylvester Gulch and then into the North Fork. The mine <br />surface water runoff is treated and routed to holding ponds and is then discharged to the <br />North Fork, if necessary. All of the mine water discharge occurs between the North Fork <br />Upper and North Fork Lower monitoring stations. There are three temperature <br />monitoring sites in the North Fork (Section 3.1.4.1). <br />June 2015 HydroGeo, Inc. <br />