Laserfiche WebLink
-lo- <br />Occurrences of ground water have been noted in the Mesaverde 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. Some recharge to this continuous unit may comes <br />directly from 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 (page 40, Section 2.04.7, <br />Volume lA). <br />Ground water occurrences in the stratigraphic interval of the Mesaverde <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 />