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~J <br />presence of the Paonia Reservoir, which is located approximately <br />12 miles upstream of the loadout facility. In addition to the <br />reservoir's influence, several irrigation ditches draw water from <br />the North Fork upstream of the site. These are, in particular: <br />the Fire Mountain Canal (at Somerset), the Stewart Ditch <br />(between Bowie and the site) and the Farmers Ditch (about 0.6 <br />mile upstream of the site). <br />The impact of water used for irrgation on the hydrology of <br />the area is twofold: first, the drawing of water from the river <br />causes a significant reduction of the flow in the river, and <br />second, the returned flow from irrigation increases the salinity <br />of the river and therefore affects the water quality of the North <br />Fork Gunnison River. <br />• Colorado Westmoreland Inc. is using water from the five <br />following ditches or streams within or adjacent to the coal <br />loadout facility: <br />- Fire Mountain Canal <br />- Farmers Ditch <br />- Stewart Ditch <br />- Terror Creek <br />- Deer Trail Ditch <br />Most pertinent to the coal loadout area is the Farmers Ditch, <br />flowing through the permit area, and the Fire Mountain Canal, <br />flowing about 140 feet topographically above the site. These two <br />ditches supply most of the water used for flood irrigation of the <br />CWI orchard adjacent to the coal loadout. The location of the <br />irrigation ditches is shown in Plate 1. <br />• <br />6 <br />GE6HYDR0 CONSULTING, INC. <br />