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-g- <br />trapped or temporarily stored. This situation is somewhat modified by the <br />presence of landslide complexes which occur throughout the general area in the <br />Bowie and five adjoining quadrangles (Colorado Geological Survey Information <br />Series 5, 34p. ). <br />Ground water will tend to move down through the more permeable material and <br />along lateral shears of these landslide complexes. The sources of ground <br />water discharges from the Steven's Gulch alluvium at the well field are <br />through the applicant's wells, through underflow within the alluvium down the <br />old bedrock channel of Steven's Gulch, and through discharges to the stream <br />during high water table conditions in spring and early summer. <br />Water quality analysis for the Steven's Gulch well water indicates good <br />quality water, with none of the parameters exceeding the recommended standards <br />of the U. S. Public Health Service. <br />Alluvial/colluvi al deposits in the Terror Creek drainage near the Morrell Cow <br />Camp are also being utilized for water supply purposes. However, no impact is <br />predicted for these areas since lands affected by mining lie to the south and <br />east. <br />Occurrences of ground water have been noted in the Mesa Yerde Formation from <br />information obtained from drilling, experience in the mine and from the <br />presence of springs and seeps in the permit area and hydrologically adjacent <br />area. This information indicates that the only potential regional aquifer in <br />the area is the continuous Rollins sandstone, located stratigraphically <br />approximately 200 feet below the "D" coal seam. Recharge to the Rollins <br />sandstone occurs along outcrops and along subcrops beneath the alluvium of <br />Terror Creek to the east and Steven's Gulch to the southwest. However, due to <br />the steepness of the topography in the outcrop areas (i.e. sandstones are <br />cliff formers) and the narrowness of the stream valleys, the Rollins sandstone <br />receives little recharge. Sane recharge to this continuous unit may come <br />directly frrom the percolation of snowmelt and precipitation downward through <br />fractures. While no site-specific aquifer characteristics for this unit are <br />available from the permit area, indications are that saturated portions of the <br />Mesa Verde Formation are not good aquifers (pages 33-37, Section 2.04.7, <br />Yolume 1 ). <br />Ground water occurrences in the stratigraphic interval of the Mesa Verde <br />Formation above the "D" seam are a function of the depositional environment <br />and are characterized by saturated horizons of localized lateral and vertical <br />extent, separated by low porosity, unsaturated intervals. These saturated <br />horizons do not appear to contribute significantly to overall regional ground <br />water flow. <br /> <br />