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• which before were chemically bonded to the strata exposed to the hole.2 The presence of the foam <br />would not significantly effect the pumping tests in the wells. <br />In an attempt to avoid the water quality problems created by the use of foam, two holes were drilled <br />using only air as the circulation medium. However, the method was found to be infeasible in both <br />cases because of its inability to lift the cuttings from the hole and prevent bridging around the drill <br />pipe.. Approximately 2500 gallons of clean (White River) water were pumped down the drill pipe of an <br />additional hole in an effort to circulate the foam and attendant contaminants out of the hole. However, <br />because the foam stabilizes the pressure within the hole, removing the foam prior to casing installation <br />resulted in sloughing. <br />As noted in the discussion on groundwater movement, the source of groundwater recharge to each of <br />the three bedrock hydrologic zones examined tends to move with depth from the northwest to the <br />north (in a clockwise manner). As a result, the Upper Sandstone Facies receives water which <br />originated in the headwaters of Scullion Gulch whereas water in the Lower Sandstone Facies likely <br />originated north of the lease area in the Red Wash Basin. <br />Because of the probable increase in travel distance as the recharge area changes from the northwest <br />to the north, the quality of groundwater is expected to be poorer with depth. This results from the <br />• increased contact time of the water with the rocks. The low permeability of the bedrock in the area <br />indicates that groundwater is in contact with the rock for a long time, ample time to dissolve more <br />mineral constituents in a given distance than would be expected in a more permeable aquifer. <br />Geologic conditions in the area also likely contribute to notably poorer quality groundwater with depth. <br />Water in the Siltstone and Coal Facies has more contact with the rock than in other zones because of <br />the greater surface area created by the fine-grained nature of the zone. This would normally result in <br />increased mineral solution. <br />The quality of groundwater in the three bedrock zones is generally poor, as evidenced by the alkali <br />deposits which appear along the sandstone outcrops adjacent to the White River following an intensive <br />storm and also from the analyses in Attachment B. A sample was collected in March 1981 from water <br />within the abandoned Staley-Gordon Mine. The TDS concentration was 4230 mg/I. The White River <br />alluvial groundwater is also of poor quality. The White River probably has little effect on the water <br />quality in the adjacent alluvium because of the tight nature of the alluvium (as determined through the <br />aquifer testing program) and the higher hydrostatic pressures existing in the adjacent bedrock zones. <br />ZJerome J. Jurinak, Professor of Soil Science and Biometerology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. <br />Personal communication, December 1979. <br />• Permit Renewal #3 (Rev. 8/99) II.C-72 <br />