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, . <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES <br />D Monte Pascoe. Executive Director <br />MINED LAND RECLAMATION DIVI <br />DAVID C. SHELTON Director <br />Aichartl D. Lamm <br />Governor <br />III IIIIIIIIlllll Ill <br />December 22, 1982 <br />T0: Dan Mathews <br />FROM: Jerry Zimpfer~~ <br />RE: Grand Mesa Surface Water Findings <br />Surface Water <br />Description of the Environment <br />The Red Canyon Mines are located in the Tongue Creek Watershed, a <br />tributary of the Gunnison River. Streams located within or adjacent to <br />the permit area are Ward Creek, Williams Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Kiser <br />Creek, and Rowell Draw (See map 2.04.7(2)(a)(b)-1). Williams Creek, <br />Cottonwood Creek, Kiser Creek, and Rowell Draw are all tributary to Ward <br />Creek which joins Dirty George Creek to form Tongue Creek. <br />The permit application reports that Cottonwood Creek and Rowell Draw are <br />ephemeral streams and that Kiser Creek, Ward Creek, and Williams Creek <br />are perennia] streams. However, an addendum to the permit (Kimball, et <br />al., 1982) identifies Williams Creek as intermittent, and Ward Creek, <br />Cottonwood Creek, and Rowell Draw as perennial streams. The confusion <br />over the flow regime of some streams may result, in part, from the <br />alternation of the natural flow regime for agricultural proposes. Much <br />of the surface water is supplied to the study area from reservoirs on <br />Grand Mesa via the Granby Irrigation Ditch. Several associated <br />irrigation ditches are present along the Ward Creek and Williams Creek <br />valleys both in and adjacent to the permit area (Kimball, et al., 1982, <br />Map 8). <br />The applicant has provided flow data obtained from Irrigation Division <br />No. 4 which shows that flow of Ward Creek in the vicinity of the Red <br />Canyon Mines varies from a low flow of 2 cfs. to a maximum flow of 80 <br />cfs. Average flow was estimated to be approximately 8 cfs. According to <br />the records of the Granby Ditch and Reservoir Company, streamflow in Ward <br />Creek below the Red Canyon Mines generally ranges from 2.5 cfs. to 5.5 <br />cfs. during the irrigation season. <br />423 Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 Tel. {303) 866-3567 <br />