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of the East Fork of Minnesota Creek is approximately 19,920 acre-feet. <br />Irrigation ditches annually remove about 20,000 acre-feet from the <br />mainstem of Minnesota Creek. <br />Two reservoirs are located in the Minnesota Creek drainage. Minnesota <br />Reservoir is located on the Dry Fork. It has a decreed capacity of 1,285 <br />acre-feet, but the actual capacity may be nearer 500 acre-feet. Beaver <br />Reservoir is located on the East Fork of Minnesota Creek and has an <br />absolute decreed capacity of 1,620 acre-feet and a conditional decree of <br />522 acre-feet. Both reservoirs store water for irrigation purposes and are <br />filled during spring runoff. They are usually drained by late August or <br />early September. <br />Water quality data have been collected at several sites throughout the <br />Minnesota Creek and Deep Creek drainages . The data indicate that these <br />waters are of asodium-bicarbonate type with relatively low total <br />dissolved solids concentration. <br />Minnesota Reservoir appears to have an effect on the water quality <br />characteristics of Dry Fork. Detention of Dry Fork flows in the <br />Minnesota Reservoir results in a decrease in total suspended solids (TSS) <br />or turbidity, a slight increase in temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), and <br />total dissolved solids (TDS). The increase in TDS is most likely a result <br />of evaporation losses. There is a slight increase in alkalinity and, as a <br />result, a slight increase in pH. In all likelihood, these changes are also a <br />result of evaporation losses. All of the changes in water quality observed <br />are what would be expected as a result of impounding water in a shallow <br />reservoir in a semi-arid climate. <br />There are three different types of springs within the permit area including <br />alluvial, colluvial, and bedrock springs. Eighty-three springs have been <br />identified within the permit area. Recent data indicate that 65 percent of <br />the discharge originates from alluvium and/or colluvium, and 35 percent <br />have bedrock formation as their source. Only 5 per cent of discharge <br />comes from the Upper and Lower Coal Series. The flow rates of these <br />springs are highly seasonal, with peak flows occurring during wet <br />weather conditions. Measurements indicate that spring flows generally <br />decrease from a high in the early summer to a low in the fall. A number <br />of the springs are ephemeral, indicating that their sources are small <br />localized aquifers (i.e. landslide deposits, colluvium, lenticular <br />sandstones, etc.). There are a total of nineteen (19) decreed spring water <br />rights on or near the West Elk permit area. <br />Wetlands have also been identified within the permit area. Based on <br />inspection of conventional and infra-red aerial photographs and <br />reconnaissance-level field investigation, there are estimated to be <br />approximately 77 acres of wetlands in the permit area. Most of the <br />32 <br />