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1 <br />Water Leveis <br />Ground water levels in the alluvium have remained fairly regular, with <br />normal seasonal fluctuations apparently related to changes in river <br />levels. The high water levels in both alluviums in 1984 reflect the <br />effects of the very high river levels in 1984. Ground water levels in the <br />' alluvium are plotted on Figure 17 and Figure 18. Piezometric maps for the <br />Yampa River Alluvium (November 1984) and the Williams Fork Alluvium <br />(December 1984) are presented on Figure 19 and Figure 20. <br />Water Quality <br />Summaries of the water quality data for the alluvial wells are presented <br />on Table 17 to Table 18. Plots of field electrical conductivity verses <br />time are presented on Figure 21 and Figure 22. <br />There is no evidence of seasonal variation of water quality in either <br />alluvium. Also, there is no evidence of long-term changes in the water <br />quality. Some variation in the field electrical conductivity of water in <br />Well AVF-5 is due to problems with the field measurements in late 1983 and <br />early 1984. The laboratory measurements do not show the same high levels <br />during that period. <br />SURFACE WATER MONITORING <br />There are two rivers in the vicinity of the Empire Energy mine site. The <br />major river, the Yampa, flows in a southeasterly direction across the mine <br />site. The Yampa River drains most of the northeast corner of Colorado and <br />part of south-central Wyoming. The second river is the Williams Fork <br />which is a major tributary of the Yampa River. The Williams Fork River <br />joins the Yampa River on the mine property. In addition, data is <br />collected from four springs: 1) the No. 1 Strip Pit (NPDES site), <br />2) North Spring, 3) Lippard Spring No. II, and 4) Haxton Spring. <br />RIVERS <br />River Flow <br />Flow data is collected by the US Geologic Survey at two continuous gaging <br />stations and two staff gages. In addition to the USGS' work, Empire <br />Energy also reads the staff gages per the frequency contained in the <br />hydrologic monitoring plan. The continuous gaging station on the Yampa <br />River was severly vandalized shortly after it was installed and no <br />continuous records are available. The station was re-established ir. <br />March, 1985. <br />A summary of the staff gage readings are presented on Table 21. A plot of <br />daily mean flow verses time fcr the Williams Fork River for 1984 is <br />presented on Figure 23. No flow data is presented for January, 1985 <br />because the recorder was broken. This plot includes the mean monthly <br />-4- <br />