Laserfiche WebLink
Windsor East Mine, Exhibit G – Water Information September 2022 <br /> Page 5 | 11 <br />corner of the lease boundary, and approximately 1,500 ft from the nearest planned mining cell. A loop of the <br />Cache la Poudre River extends between the lease area and the likely location for the well. The parcel that this <br />well sits on is owned by GWIP LLC, the property owner for this reclamation permit application <br />Wells on the Adjacent Parsons Mine Property <br />Monitoring wells installed as part of the Parsons Mine operations were considered as part of this permit <br />application. Twelve of the fourteen wells were installed in 2010 and the other two were installed more recently. <br />Table 2 includes construction details and depth-to-water information. Measuring point elevations are believed to <br />have been estimated based on a topographic map for the area. Appendix G-2 provides water levels measured <br />over time for the Parsons Mine monitoring wells. <br />1.3.3 Site Monitoring Wells <br />Martin Marietta installed five monitoring wells (Figure G-3) in August 2022 to support the monitoring plan <br />associated with the project, documenting the groundwater conditions before initiation of mining, during mining, <br />and after mining is complete. Through the well monitoring program, the wells will serve as points at which water <br />levels will be measured and water quality samples collected. The boreholes for each of the wells were advanced <br />until bedrock was encountered. Lithologic logs documenting the valley-fill sediments observed and the bedrock <br />during drilling were recorded. The monitoring wells were constructed of two-inch Schedule 40 PVC casing and <br />screen. Silica sand was placed from approximately two feet above the top of the screen to the bottom of the <br />borehole (bedrock). Above the silica sand, a bentonite seal was placed in the borehole annulus to restrict <br />infiltration of surface water. Each of the monitoring wells was finished at the surface with a locking, aboveground, <br />steel protective casing set in concrete. Table 3 provides additional details of the monitoring well installations. <br />Appendix G-1 presents borehole logs and well completion details for the monitoring wells. <br />1.4 HISTORIC AND FUTURE GROUNDWATER LEVELS <br />Monitoring wells established at the Windsor East site in August 2022 were used to collect groundwater elevation <br />data. This set of water level data was supplemented by water level data collected from monitoring wells on the <br />adjacent Parsons Mine site located east of the Windsor East property. Water level data measured for the wells <br />are included in Tables 2 and 3. Depth to water at the Windsor East site varies from 7.9 to 10.4 ft below the top of <br />the well casing, corresponding to a range of water level elevation from 4732.14 at MW-06 to 4717.44 at MW-11. <br />Figure G-5 presents the general direction of groundwater flow (southeast). <br />Since 2010, regular groundwater measurements have been collected from the 14 monitoring wells around Martin <br />Marietta’s Parsons Mine site. These wells shall hereafter be referred to as the Parsons Well Network, are numbered <br />MW-1 through MW-14. Appendix G-2 shows the variation in water level measurements from monitoring wells MW-1 <br />to MW-12. Water levels measured in the Parsons well network vary from 4730 feet at MW-5 to 4690 feet above <br />mean sea level (amsl) at MW-1 where the effects of dewatering are visible in late 2021 through 2022. Water levels <br />are seasonally at their highest elevations in August or September following the irrigation season, and typically at <br />their lowest elevations in February to March when irrigation has been suspended for the longest period of time. The <br />water level at MW-12 before initiation of local dewatering in 2019 ranged from 5.8 to 7.8 ft bgs (4720.5 to 4722 ft <br />amsl), then dropped to an average of 11.3 ft bgs (4716.7 ft amsl), a drawdown of approximately 4.6 ft. This <br />monitoring well is located approximately 100 feet from the dewatering trench of the nearest active mining cell at the <br />Parsons Mine, and the 4.6-foot change in water levels experienced at the Parsons Mine is expected to be <br />representative of the drawdown that will be associated with dewatering of the mining cells at the Windsor East site. <br />Based on observed water levels at the Windsor East and Parsons sites, dewatering will lower water levels to <br />within 2 feet of the top of bedrock in the immediate vicinity of each mining cell. The lowered groundwater effects <br />will be transmitted horizontally by the gravel aquifer, reducing water levels in the surrounding area as a “cone of <br />depression” forms around the mining cell. During mining, water in the area will flow radially toward the dewatered <br />cells, where it will be removed using the dewatering trench drainage system and discharged into the river.