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� oEar <br /> APPENDIX E <br /> LITTLE TURKEY CREEK <br /> NUMERICAL GROUNDWATER FLOW MODEL DOCUMENTATION <br /> Based on test drilling, monitoring facility data, and the proposed mining plan, mining operations <br /> at the HRR quarry are expected to intercept ground water to the south of Little Turkey Creek. An <br /> evaluation has been made of the potential impacts to ground water in the LTC watershed, and the <br /> extent to which these impacts might affect surface water flow in Little Turkey Creek and <br /> domestic wells in the vicinity of the quarry. The impact analysis followed a water balance <br /> approach and used a numerical flow model as a tool to perform a pre-mining hydrogeologic <br /> evaluation and a mining impact analysis. <br /> A numerical groundwater flow model of the upper part of the Little Turkey Creek watershed, east <br /> of Hwy 115, has been developed as an aid to understanding overall water balance, groundwater <br /> flow, and interaction of groundwater with surface water flows, within this part of this watershed. <br /> The model was also used as a tool to assess the potential effects on groundwater flow and water <br /> balance resulting from Transit Mix's proposed mining operation at the Hitch Rack Ranch (HRR) <br /> property in the watershed. <br /> This Appendix documents the model basis, construction, and calibration. It also summarizes the <br /> results of using the calibrated model to simulate the effects of mining at the HRR property on the <br /> hydrogeologic regime within the upper part of the Little Turkey Creek watershed. <br /> Model Basis and Conceptual Groundwater Flow Model <br /> The water balance approach is based on the reasonable premise that the watershed above the <br /> HRR property forms a closed hydrologic system where all surface water and ground water within <br /> the watershed is derived from precipitation that falls within the watershed, i.e. there is no transfer <br /> or diversion of surface water or ground water into or out of the watershed from adjacent <br /> watersheds. Water can leave the upper part of the watershed in the form of <br /> evaporation/evapotranspiration, pumping from wells within the watershed, surface water runoff, <br /> and groundwater discharge from the upper part of the watershed to the lower part of the <br /> watershed <br /> The conceptual groundwater flow model (CGFM) assumes that net recharge to groundwater <br /> (=total recharge minus evaporation and evapotranspiration) occurs from direct infiltration of <br /> precipitation and from infiltration of surface water in Little Turkey Creek and its tributaries in <br /> areas where the groundwater table(saturated groundwater conditions) is below the ground surface <br /> or the surface water elevation. <br /> TRANSIT MIX-HITCH RACK RANCH <br /> HYDROGEOLOGY AND IMPACT ANALYSIS <br /> E-2 <br />