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The cumulative effect of an extremely dr-y fall, warm winter with <br />• little snowpack and three years of below normal precipitation has <br />plunged the area into an extreme drought. This summer, <br />precipitation events were light rains that quickly evaporated or <br />were fast moving thunderstorms that shed water quickly, <br />rnultiplying the drought conditions. <br />EFFECT OF THE MINES ON THE EAST SALT CREEK REGIME <br />Surface Water <br />Due to the limited disturbance of the mines there is little chance <br />that any significant effect on the quantity or quality of the <br />surface waters near either mine sites has occurred. As the <br />Division notes in its approval package for the Munger Canvon Mine. <br />the total area that will be disturbed by both mine sites amounts <br />to 0.12 percent of the area of the East Salt Creek drainage basin <br />above the mines. <br />Surface water samples are being taken on McClarie Creek (SW-2 ar~d <br />SW-S). Munger Creek (SW-3). and East Salt Creek (SW-1 and SW-8) as <br />required by the monitoring program. Results of the quarterly <br />sampling for each of the monitoring sites are shown on Table 4. <br />Both McClave and Munger Creeks were dry most of the year. The <br />result of tiie decreased precipitation was significant. East Salt <br />Creek dried up in May and has only flowed in direct response to <br />• major precipitation events since then. <br />The water samples collected show tY~at tFre quality of the water is <br />generally the same as for previous years. A storm event in August <br />did generate runoff with extremely high levels of total suspended <br />solids. This was probably the effect of the intensity of the <br />storm combined with the dry. dusty soil conditions. <br />Groundwater <br />Table 5 shows the results of groundwater sampling during 1990: as <br />well as a comparison to the baseline year 1986. Like last year, <br />static water levels have steadily fallen and are now aL' or near <br />record lows for the period that the wells have been monitored. <br />This fact is supported by the poor vegetative growtrr in the area <br />this year. Results of quality sampling are consistent with the <br />results from previous years. <br />• <br />Page - 4 10/19/90 <br />