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<br />3.6.2.2 Surface Water at the Loadout <br />The Loadout facility is located in the Roaring Fork River drainage basin, 1 mile <br />downstream of Carbondale. The Roaring Fork has a drainage area of 1,400 square <br />miles at the Loadout. Elevation ranges from 6,025 feet at the Loadout, to over <br />14,000 feet in the headwater. Vegetation species include grass-sagebrush com- <br />munities near the Loadout, to spruce-fir and alpine tundraat the higher eleva- <br />tions. The climate is similar to that at the mine area except the Loadout <br />facility receives less annual precipitation (22 inches at the mine, compared to <br />18 inches at the Loadout). <br />The Roaring Fork River derives most of its flow from snowmelt. Peakflow occurs <br />in May or June, and baseflow occurs during late fall and winter. A USGS gaging <br />station, Number 09085000, is located on the Roaring Fork River at Glenwood <br />Springs, just above the confluence with the Colorado River. The gaging station <br />• has been in continuous operation since 1910. The mean annual discharge at the <br />station is 1,370 cfs, and the 10-year, 7-day low flow is 260 cfs. The maximum <br />flow recorded at Glenwood Springs was 19,000 cfs, which occurred in 1957. <br />A substantial amount of water quality data have been collected on the <br />Roaring Fork River. Appendix 3-C is a summary of the "Roaring Fork Basin Water <br />Quality Management Plan". Snowmass has been collecting water quality data on <br />the Roaring Fork at two sites since September, 1980. The data have been <br />collected on a quarterly basis at one site above the Loadout below the <br />confluence with the Crystal River, and one site downstream of the Loadout (see <br />Figure 3.6.1.2). Laboratory analysis is in Appendix 3-Q. <br />The Roaring Fork River is classified as Class 2 Recreation, a Class 1 Cold Water <br />Aquatic Life, a Water Supply, and Agriculture according to CDOH stream <br />classification. When the water quality is compared to these standards and the <br />EPA drinking water standards, all values of the monitored parameters are within <br />the standards except copper. <br />• <br />3-91 <br />