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• Beaver Reservoir is located on the East Fork of Minnesota Creek approximately 3.3 miles upstream <br />from its confluence with Minnesota Creek and approximately 1.7 miles south of the permit azea. It <br />is owned and operated by the Beaver Reservoir Company. Records of the SEO show that the <br />reservoir has a decreed capacity of 1,620.20 acre-feet of which 551.70 acre-feet is a conditional <br />decree. The source of water for the reservoir is runoff from Mount Gunnison. Leakage from <br />Beaver Reservoir has caused the SEO to restrict its storage capacity. This leakage causes minor <br />springs to occur in the outcropping bedrock along the downstream banks of East Fork and below <br />the toe of the dam. Leakage is most noticeable in the spring when the reservoir is at its maximum <br />storage capacity. The yield of Beaver Reservoir has been tabulated by the SEO (1978) for the 28- <br />year period from 1950 through 1977. During this period, the average reservoir yield was <br />approximately 680 acre-feet per year. <br />In addition to the two storage reservoirs in the azea of the West Elk Mine, a total of 61 stock water <br />impoundments have been identified in or adjacent to the permit area. Map 37 illustrates the <br />locations of the known stock water ponds. Stock water ponds are typically found in drainages or <br />below identified springs where surface water can be collected. These ponds, for the most part, do <br />not represent adjudicated water rights or perennial flows. Within the Gunnison National Forest, the <br />ponds aze managed for seasonal use only by the U.S. Forest Service. <br />Wetlands <br />• Based upon inspection of conventional and infrazed aerial photographs and reconnaissance-level <br />field investigation, there aze approximately 7 acres of wetlands (as defined by the U.S. Army Corps <br />of Engineers [USAGE]) in the permit azea. Field surveys conducted in August 1995 verified this <br />estimate. Most of the wetlands are found in drainage channels, although there aze small, isolated <br />wetlands on the hillsides where springs and seeps occasionally emerge as a result of <br />landslides/slumps. <br />WWE inventoried the wetlands and riparian zones within the South of Divide area in the <br />fall of 1996 and again in the fall of 2004. Based on these studies, there are approximately <br />42 acres of wetlands in the South of Divide permit area. Wetlands occur in four types of <br />locations: (1) Along the channel bottoms, (2) In association with beaver activity, (3) At <br />seeps or springs, and (4) Along the margins of stock ponds. The vast majority of the <br />wetland acreage is located along the Dry Fork and Lick Creek riparian corridors. <br />For additional information regazding wetlands, refer to Section 2.05.6 of this document. <br />This section discusses the program that MCC has implemented to monitor the water resources in <br />the permit area. Many of the monitoring stations have been gaged for years and, consequently, have <br />established the baseline hydrologic regime of the resource in accordance with CDMG regulations. <br />. At least one year (per Table 10) of baseline data will be provided to CDMG prior to longwall <br />mining under or within the angle-of--draw of a monitored water resource in the permit azea. <br />2,04-80 RevisedNovem6er 2004 PRIO <br />