Laserfiche WebLink
Ground Water Recharge, Storage, Movement and Discharge <br /> P <br /> Recharge to the Mesaverde in the Coal Basin area occurs <br /> principally through the outcrop area on the east and west <br /> sides of Huntsman Ridge . Some recharge will also result from <br /> percolation of water vertically downward through joint and <br /> fracture systems in the overlying rock near the area of <br /> outcrop. Plat_ Geologic Cross Section, Coal Basin <br /> Vicinity, shows the outcrop area of the three sandstone units, <br /> believed to be the primary aquifer zones in the lower portion <br /> of the Mesaverde formation. <br /> Recharge is minimal during winter months due to the frozen, <br /> snowpack conditions at the higher elevations where the <br /> Mesaverde outcrops . Spring thaw brings a period of probable <br /> maximum recharge with saturated soil conditions and peak <br /> stream runoff. Summer and early fall precipitation events will <br /> contribute to the recharge of the aquifer to a lesser degree . <br /> Numerous small tributaries to Coal Creek, fed by snowmelt <br /> and precipitation everts, cross the outcrops of the sand units <br /> of the Mesaverde and provide additional recharge . <br /> In the vicinity of the Coal Basin Mine, water entering the <br /> Mesaverde migrates generally down the dip of the aquifer to <br /> the west and northwest toward southern Piceance Basin. <br /> Permeabilities in the three sand units are expected to range <br /> from 10�2 to I ft{day. The transmissivities of the three <br /> 17 <br />