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Mr. William G. Merrill March 10, 2011 <br />Gunnison River Gravel Pit Nos. 1 & 5 Substitute Water Supply Plan Page 3 of 7 <br />70,000 tons per year), and approximately 2.80 acre feet of water will be consumed as product <br />moisture on an annual basis at Pit No. 5 (production rate of 250,000 tons per year). <br />The anticipated net depletions for the first year of operation for Pit No. 1 total 3.43 acre-feet, <br />which consists of 1.16 acre-feet of evaporative losses from 1.2 acres of exposed ground water, <br />1.52 acre-feet used for dust suppression, and 0.75 acre-feet for moisture retained in the mined <br />product. The anticipated net depletions for the second year of operation for Pit No. 1 total 5.83 <br />acre-feet, which consists of 3.56 acre-feet of evaporative losses from 2.4 acres of exposed ground <br />water, 1.52 acre-feet used for dust suppression, and 0.75 acre-feet for moisture retained in the <br />mined product. Evaporation amounts are based on the exposure of 0.1 acres of ground water for <br />the mining period of June through August, and the exposure for the non mining months of <br />September through May of 1.2 acres (year 1) and 2.4 acres (year 2). <br />Anticipated net depletions for the first year of operation (water only projected to be used <br />September through December for the first year) for Pit No. 5 total 5.02 acre-feet, which consists of <br />0.16 acre-feet of evaporative losses from 0.2 acres of exposed ground water, 3.74 acre-feet used <br />for dust suppression, and 1.12 acre-feet for moisture retained in the mined product. The <br />anticipated net depletions for the second year of operation for Pit No. 5 total 12.67 acre-feet, which <br />consists of 0.77 acre-feet of evaporative losses from 0.2 acres of exposed ground water, 9.1 acre- <br />feet used for dust suppression, and 2.80 acre-feet for moisture retained in the mined product. <br />Evaporation amounts are based on the exposure of 0.2 acres of ground water for the entire mining <br />period. The monthly distribution of consumptive losses for Pit Nos. 1 & 5 is shown on the attached <br />Tables 2, 3, and 4. <br />The timing of depletions to the Gunnison River from the consumptive uses described in this <br />SWSP were estimated using Glover methodology and the following input parameters: Distance <br />from the centroid of the exposed ground water pond to the river: 283 feet (Pit No. 1) and 303 feet <br />(Pit No. 5); distance from the no-flow boundary to the river: 600 feet (Pit Nos. 1 and 5); <br />transmissivity: 38,106 gpd/ft. (Pit No. 1) and 40,223 gpd/ft. (Pit No. 5), and specific yield: 0.2 (Pit <br />Nos. 1 and 5). Lagged depletions are shown on the attached Tables 3 and 4. <br />Dewatering will be accomplished by pumping water from each excavation at a maximum <br />rate of 650 gallons per minute (gpm). A portion of the water generated during dewatering will be <br />used to <br />control fugitive dust on site roads and at the crusher facilities. The remainder of the water <br />generated during dewatering will be discharged directly to the Gunnison River adjacent to each pit. <br />Upon completion of operations at Pit No. 1 each year and at Pit No. 5 at the end of its three year <br />mine life, the excavations will be filled by pumping water from the Gunnison River to each <br />excavation at a rate sufficient to replace the volume of water in the first or intermittent fill (up to 850 <br />gpm) within one month. Refilling of the dewatered mine sites is only proposed to occur at times (1) <br />there are no active calls on the river placed by a senior downstream water user, and based on <br />discussions with the division engineer and water commissioner, there is no anticipation of a <br />downstream call during the refilling period or (2) sufficient excess replacement water, purchased as <br />proposed in this SWSP, is available to cover potential out-of-priority depletions. <br />REPLACEMENT WATER <br />Replacement water for this SWSP will be provided by releases from Blue Mesa Reservoir. <br />GJPS will obtain a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for Blue Mesa Reservoir water to