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The Mines are located along the Purgatoire River in an area <br /> known as the Picketwire Valley. The headwaters of the Purgatoire are <br /> located on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range <br /> west of the mine area. The New Elk Mine is located on the Middle Fork, <br /> about 1 . 5 miles upstream of the confluence of the North and Middle <br /> Forks. The confluence of the South Fork is at Weston, approximately <br /> four miles downstream of the Golden Eagle Mine (Figure 1 ) . The United <br /> State Geological Survey has monitored the flow of the Purgatoire at <br /> Stonewall (approximately four miles upstream from the New Elk Mine) <br /> from May 1978 to September 1981 and at Madrid (approximately 15 miles <br /> downstream of the Golden Eagle Mine) since 1972. <br /> Annual runoff in the Purgatoire is dominated by snowmelt, <br /> with peak flows occurring in May and June. Summer and fall <br /> thunderstorms generally produce smaller peaks of short duration. <br /> Analysis of the 550 square mile drainage basin at the Madrid station <br /> indicates a low-yield watershed with the mean annual runoff volume <br /> measured at 28 , 980 acre-feet. <br /> Three stations ( PRS-1 , PRS-2 and PRS-3 , Figure 1 ) were <br /> monitored on the Purgatoire River during the 1988 water year. Monthly <br /> data for the stations is presented in Table 1-1 , 1-2 and 1-3 in <br /> Appendix 1 . Annual data is summarized in Table 1-12 for 1984, through <br /> 1988 . The water at each of the three stations continues to be a <br /> calcium-bicarbonate type water with no significant changes in quality. <br /> Station PRS-1 is located on the Middle Fork above the New Elk <br /> Mine and acts as a control station without influence of mining. Tables <br /> 1-1 and 1-12 presents a summary of the data collected during the 1988 <br /> water year and for the previous four years. <br /> Station PRS-2 is located below the confluence of the North <br /> and Middle Forks while Station PRS-3 is located one mile below PRS-2 <br /> and below all mining activities (Figure 1 ) . These two stations exhibit <br /> similar flow rates and water quality, however, the difference between <br /> these two stations and PRS-1 is the addition of the North Fork. Ranges <br /> -13- <br />