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1 <br />~• Pond 012 will be located on an unnamed tributary of Sage Creek in the NW'/. NE'/. of <br />sec. 19, T.5 N., R.87 W. The drainage area is about 0.5 square mile. The storage capacity <br />' will be about 19.0 acre-feet and the maximum water surface area will be about 2.5 acres. <br />This site is located just upstream from Pond Y-1 which was constructed by SCC to provide <br />stored water for replacement of out-of-priority depletions caused by water uses at the Seneca <br />' II-W Mine <br />' Water Depletions <br />Storage and use of water at Pond 010 and Pond 012 will cause reductions, or <br />' depletion, to streamflow in Grassy Creek and Sage Creek, respectively, and to the Yampa <br />River. The depletion to each stream is dependent on the availability and timing of the surface <br />water supplies. If streamflow can provide the water supplies for industrial purposes and pond <br />evaporation, the total depletion will be about 51.06 acre-feet annually as shown in Table 1. <br />Pumpage from the Yoast Mine Shop Well will cause depletions to Sage Creek, Grassy <br />' Creek, Fish Creek, Middle Creek, Trout Creek, and Yampa River. GeoTrans, Inc. modeled the <br />effects of pumping water from the Yoast Mine Shop Well (1994, GeoTrans) assuming that <br />the streams are hydraulically connected to the Trout Creek Sandstone at outcrop locations. <br />1 The aquifer was modeled for 15 years of continuous pumping at a rate of 35 gpm (56.5 acre- <br />feet annually) followed by 20 years of recovery. The results of the modeling are summarized <br />in Table 3. <br />The combined depletions to Fish Creek, Middle Creek, and Trout Creek total 0.466 <br />percent of the annual pumpage at year 15. If the surface water can supply all of the industrial <br />demand, the annual well pumpage would total about 1 acre-foot and the annual depletion to <br />these streams would be 0.00466 acre-foot or 1,518 gallons. If the well has to supply all of <br />the water used for domestic and industrial purposes, 41.0 acre-feet annually, the annual <br />depletion to these streams would be 0.191 acre-foot or 62,257 gallons. In either case the <br />' depletions to Fish, Middle, and Trout Creeks will be insignificant. <br />EXISTING WATER USES AND WATER RIGHTS <br />The operation of Ponds 010 and 012 and the Yoast Mine Shop Well will deplete <br />' streamflows in Grassy Creek, Sage Creek, and the Yampa River. Ponds 011, 013, and 014 <br />will decant sediment from the streams but will not appreciably deplete streamflows. This <br />section of the report describes the existing water uses in the Grassy Creek and Sage Creek <br />' basins and the potential impacts of the water uses at the Yoast Mine on these existing water <br />uses. The water rights for existing uses in the vicinity of the Yoast Mine are summarized in <br />Table 4. <br />Saae Creek <br />' There are many diversion and storage structures constructed on Sage Creek and its <br />tributaries, primarily for irrigation and stock water purposes. Many of these structures were <br />not used for extensive periods so the water rights were abandoned by the decree in Case No. <br />91CW116. The water rights shown in Table 4 are in good standing. <br />3 <br />