1999-05-21_HYDROLOGY - M1999051 - Laserfiche WebLink

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It is expected that either the shallow alluvial wells or the deep well will be installed. The deep well is the preferred option. A water storage pond will be built to ensure that the pilot plant has an adequate water supply in case the water is in priority and there is a valid call for the water by senior users. G-2 SURFACE WATER AND GROUND WATER RESOURCES The Rock School Sodium Lease lies within the Piceance Basin which is located in the Yellow Creek and White River Drainage Basins of the Green River Basin of the Lower Colorado River Basin. Two streams drain the Lease area: Corral Gulch near the southern boundary and Yellow Creek near the eastern boundary. Corral Gulch drains into Yellow Creek, and Yellow Creek is a tributary of the White River (see Figure G-1). Estimates of ground water storage in the Piceance Basin range up to 25 million acre-feet (International Engineering Company, Inc., 1981). G-2.1 SURFACE WATER The climate in the Lease area is semi-arid with an average precipitation of 12 to 14 inches. Evapotranspiration is less than or equal to the annual precipitation. Surface water originates chiefly as snowmelt runoff in the spring (April to June). Peak flooding events are caused by snowmelt and by severe summer (primarily August) thunderstorms. Corral Gulch has a drainage area of 32 square miles and had an average annual flow of 1,520 acre-feet (for water years 1974 to 1997) as measured by the U.S. Geological Surrey (USGS) at gauging station 09306242, about two miles upstream of the Lease area boundary (Figure G-1). Yellow Creek has a drainage area of 262 square miles and had an average annual flow of 1,820 acre-feet (for water years 1973 to 1997) as measured by the USGS at gauging station 09306255, about 20 miles downstream of the Lease area (Figure G-1). The flow in Corral Gulch near the Lease area is more or less perennial with some water diverted for irrigation. The flow in Yellow Creek is intermittent between the Lease area and the White River. The quality of water in the Green River Basin ranges from excellent in the upper reaches of its major tributaries (including the White River) to poor in some lower elevation tributaries to the White River (Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), 1998). Many lower elevation tributaries in the Piceance Creek Basin suffer poor water quality mostly due to the streams being fed by springs and ground water in contact with dissolved saline minerals. The streams show exceedingly high concentrations of dissolved solids, sulfates, and other minerals associated with oil shale and saline minerals (CDPHE, 1998). The surface water quality also G:\LM%M78545.DOZReciamation\ReGamexh.000 G-2