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domestic cisterns. During the non-irrigation season the ditch is occasionally turned on to <br />maintain the water levels in the stock ponds and cisterns. <br />The flow in Tuttle Draw is primarily from irrigation return waters. Occasional precipitation <br />and snowmelt events contribute waters to this Draw. Sediment Pond 001 discharges water to <br />this drainage system regularly with flows characterized by lows in April, averaging about <br />0.01 cfs, to highs in September of 0.9 cfs. Sediment Pond 006 discharges significant flow to <br />Tuttle Draw beginning in May and continuing through August. Average flow for this period <br />is 0.4 cfs. In September discharges from Sediment Pond 006 rapidly decline. In January <br />through April the average dischazge is insignificant. This dischazge has been monitored for <br />ten years. These flows appear to be greatly influenced by local irrigation practices. Impacts <br />on water quality from these ponds on Tuttle Draw are very limited due to the high dilution <br />ratios. These discharges occur upstream of surface water monitoring site SW-N3. <br />Measurements of water flow at SW-N3 show rates from 0.019 cfs to 9.35 cfs. Flows in <br />April were measured at 0.665 cfs and at 9.35 cfs in September. The West Return Ditch is <br />also tributary to Tuttle Draw just upstream of SW-N3. Contributions from this source <br />generally decline to near zero during the non-irrigation period. These flows vary from 0.006 <br />cfs during April to 0.856 cfs in June. <br />Flows in Calamity Draw generally reflect local irrigation practices. Water from the West <br />Lateral Ditch's return imgation flow is its primary source. Very little supplemental flow is <br />derived from precipitation and snowmelt nrnoff. In 1987, measured flow rates in Calamity <br />Draw varied from 0.605 cfs in April to 13.4 cfs in July. Flow in Calamity Draw varied <br />from 1,04 to 2.06 cfs during the non-irrigation period. Shallow ground water alluvial <br />sources provide a large portion of this low Flow period's water. This ground water flow is <br />related to local irrigation practices but is consolidated into a more uniform and regular flow <br />by the permeabilities of these near surface alluvial deposits. Sediment Pond 007 for the New <br />Horizon Mine 2 mining site will contribute water to the Calamity Draw system. The <br />drainage system at the New Horizon 2 site has been designed to provide adequate capacity <br />and storage times to completely control a 10-year 24-hour precipitation event. This system <br />will collect all runoff from the mine site and should actually lower present total suspended <br />solids (TSS) contribution from this area over the life of the mine. Increased TDS levels in <br />tJiis water from mining disturbances are expected but are projected to be within acceptable <br />dischazge levels and will be mitigated by dilution. Regular monitoring of these flow rates <br />and water quality will give adequate control of this current water source to protect water <br />quality in Calamity Draw. <br />Surface water monitoring practices and frequencies are described the permit application. <br />Also see Section B, Item I.C., of this document for a summary of surface and ground water <br />monitoring practices to which Western Fuels-Colorado has committed. <br />Ground Water <br />The New Horizon Mines lie in a ground water basin defined by the Nucla Syncline. This <br />broad northwest trending syncline is recharged along the Uncompahgre uplift to the northeast <br />and discharges southwest toward the major rivers flowing through the area. <br />6 <br />