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There will be a drawdown of the water table in the immediate vicinity of the pit once pumping <br />starts, however, no water wells aze located within any reasonable distance to the permit area <br />which could be affected by this drawdown. No wells downstream or upstream can be can be <br />affected by the proposed gravel mining. The water quality of the pumped water is expected to be <br />a similaz to a combination of the quality of the White River and Piceance Creek, which is water <br />of pH 8.5, TDS of 750 and very low sediment due to the precautions taken in the pit pumping. <br />Sediment levels in the River are low except for spring thaw periods and instances of strong <br />rainfall events. Generally, the water dischazged from the pit will be lower in sediment than that <br />which naturally flows in the River. <br />There are no known problems with selenium in the underlying shale. <br />3. Water Consumption for the Operation and Water Rights <br />A small amount of water will be required to be used in the operation to control dust, wash gravel <br />washing, and losses incurred as a result of mining. The following is an estimation of the amount <br />of water which will be used for the operation. Water will be consumed in the enclosed crusher, <br />screen plant and wash plant through water sprays to keep dust down as needed. Since the mined <br />material is wet, it is expected that very little moisture will need to be added. The wash plant will <br />have some settling ponds which will have some evaporation which is also considered a <br />consumptive use. Water may also be used to keep dust down on the dirt portion of the access <br />road leading to County Road 5. <br />Depletions for moisture lost in the mined material has been calculated to be 4% of the material <br />mined below the water surface level. It is estimated that 190,500 tons of material will be mined <br />below the water table per yeaz. Assumptions aze that mining will occur sporadically for the <br />approximate 3.5-4.0 year mining period. It has been calculated that moisture will be lost in the <br />mined material in the amount of 0.26 acre-feet per month with a total of 3.15 acre-feet per yeaz. <br />White River City Pit December 06 H-4 <br />