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Mayo and Associates, LC • as 450 gpm, most springs have at one time or another gone completely dry. Seasonal responses are demonstrated by box plots (Figure ] 0) that show the minimum and maximum measured discharge rate for each lithology group are included in Figure ] 0. The box plots indicate that the springs issuing from superficial sediments tend to have greater springtime discharge rates and that all of the springs tend to dry up during the late summer and fall. The box plot for Upper and Lower Coal Member springs does no[ appear to follow the trend of decreasing discharge rates with decreasing stratigraphic position. However, this box plot, which only represents three springs, is greatly skewed by one spring WCC-24. This spring, which is a very unusual spring and is discussed below, has a maximum recorded discharge rate of 108 gpm and a minimum discharge rate of 25 gpm. Many of the hydrographs (Appendix C) for which long term data exist also show the effects of climatic variability. Representative hydrographs are shown in Figure 1 l and the general discharge characteristics ofsprings are described below. 5.1 Alluvial Springs Adequate data only exist to construct one hydrograph (spring 26-1) for alluvial groundwater systems (Figure l ] a). Spring 26-1 issues from alluvial sediments in the Deep Creek area. Although the discharge data are limited as monitoring began in 1996, it is apparent that the alluvial sediments are highly sensitive to seasonal variations. During August 1996, spring 26-1 dried up completely. During [he peak of the snow melt season in the following May, the spring discharged nearly 30 gpm. This large variation suggests that 1) the capability of • the alluvial sediments to transmit water is great, 2) the storage volume of the alluvial Characterization of Groundwater Systems in the V~ciniry of the West Elk Mine, Somerset, Colorado ?9 January 1999 Paee 58