Availability and quality of ground water in the Lake George area, southeastern Park County, Colorado

Water for domestic use in the Lake George area, Colo., is produced from four aquifers. Two of the aquifers, fractured-cyrstalline and volcanic rocks, have a water table ranging from 10 to 100 feet below land surface and well yields range from 0.08 to 6 gallons per minute. The consolidated sedimentary-rock and unconsolidated-alluvial aquifers have a water table ranging from near land surface to 60 feet below land surface and well yields range from 2 to 50 gallons per minute. The aquifers generally contain calcium bicarbonate water with concentrations of dissolved solids ranging from 101 to 636 milligrams per liter. In some areas, concentrations of iron as much as 18,000 micrograms per liter and concentrations of fluoride as much as 5.6 milligrams per liter affect suitability for domestic use. Chemical degradation of ground water has occurred in 18 of the 35 wells and in the 1 spring that were sampled. Bacterial contamination was found in water from six wells. (Woodard-USGS)