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of Raven Creek because of that buffer zone. No further mining is planned <br /> in the area. <br /> A major contributor to flow in Raven Gulch is Deep Creek, a perennial <br /> stream that drains the southeastern part of the permit area. Flows in <br /> Deep Creek historically have been in the 0.1 to 0.5 cfs range during most <br /> of the year, as indicated by MCC's monitoring data from 2000 through <br /> 2005. Springtime flows exceed 30 cfs. Alluvium in the Deep Creek <br /> watershed is too thin to serve as a ground water supply source. <br /> Most of the southern part of the permit area is in the Minnesota Creek <br /> watershed that was approved for mining in PR-10. This major watershed <br /> covers approximately 53.5 square miles. Tributaries to the mainstem of <br /> Minnesota Creek include Horse Creek, South Prong, Lick Creek, Dry <br /> Fork, and East Fork. The mainstem of Minnesota Creek enters the North <br /> Fork of the Gunnison near the town of Paonia. Based on streamflows <br /> measured in water year 1978, prior to mining, the water yields from these <br /> drainages are nearly an order of magnitude greater than the yield from <br /> Sylvester Gulch. <br /> The evaluation of flow within the Minnesota Creek drainage is <br /> considered only an approximation due to infiltration and seepage losses, <br /> seasonal variations in precipitation and potential evaporation and <br /> sampling difficulties. MCC estimates that more than 80% of the South <br /> of Divide mining area is in the Dry Fork drainage. MCC also describes <br /> the Dry Fork drainage as having minimal yield, but its stream channel <br /> annually conveys approximately 720 acre-feet of water imported from <br /> Little Gunnison Creek via the Deep Creek Ditch(based on Office of the <br /> State Engineer records for 1970 through 2002). The average annual flow <br /> of the East Fork of Minnesota Creek is approximately 19,920 acre-feet. <br /> Irrigation ditches annually remove about 20,000 acre-feet from <br /> Minnesota Creek. <br /> Two reservoirs are located in the Minnesota Creek drainage. Minnesota <br /> Reservoir is located on the Dry Fork. It has a decreed capacity of 1,285 <br /> acre-feet. Beaver Reservoir is located on the East Fork of Minnesota <br /> Creek and has an absolute decreed capacity of 1,620 acre-feet and a <br /> conditional decree of 522 acre-feet. Both reservoirs store water for <br /> irrigation purposes and are filled during spring runoff. They are usually <br /> drained by late August or early September. <br /> Water quality data have been collected at several sites throughout the <br /> Minnesota Creek and Deep Creek drainages. The data indicate that these <br /> waters are of a sodium-bicarbonate type with relatively low total <br /> dissolved solids concentration. <br /> Minnesota Reservoir appears to have an effect on the water quality <br /> characteristics of Dry Fork. Detention of Dry Fork flows in the <br /> 41 <br />