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<br />Whether or not the world demand and subsequent growth of United States <br />exports continues in the future depends on (II import policies of the <br />Soviet Union and People's Republic of China; (2) rate of increase of <br />real incomes in developing countries; and (3) world grain production and <br />competition from other grain exporting countries. It is this trend <br />which will, to a large degree, provide the demand for corn production in <br />the study area. Irrigation development and the abil ity to increase <br />yields through management and technological advances are means to <br />contribute to meeting the world demand for grain. <br /> <br />Surface water development opportunities exist in the Upper Platte River <br />Basin to aid expanding agriculture production in the United States to <br />meet growing world food and fiber demands. The main opportunities for <br />water storage and irrigation exist in the South Platte and along the <br />mainstem of the Pl atte River port ions of the study area in Nebraska. <br />These opportunities could provide water for additional lands as well as <br />provide a supplemental water supply to presently irrigated lands. <br /> <br />Conservation opportunities also exist to make more efficient use of the <br />water. These conservation measures include the rehabilitation and <br />bet terment of ex i st i ng i rr igat i on conveyance systems and improved water <br />man agement pr ac t ices. <br /> <br />Irrigation water problems in the basin include ground-water mining and <br />loss of productive lands to urban encroachment. Ground-water tables are <br />decl ining in local ized areas in the central Pl atte Valley in Nebraska <br />and in areas of northeastern Colorado. The long-term development of <br />ground water could result in decreases in surface streamflows in the <br />Upper Platte River system. Urban sprawl occurs mainly in the Colorado <br />portion of the study area along the Front Range. <br /> <br />Flood Control <br /> <br />A considerable amount of 1 ands in the Upper Pl atte is subject to <br />flooding. Severe and recurri ng urban fl oodi ng occurs at commun it i es <br />with flood plain areas adjoining the basin's major streams and tri- <br />butaries. These include, but are not limited to, the South Platte River <br />and tributaries along Colorado's Front Range; the North Platte River <br />from Casper, Wyoming, to Glendo Reservoir; and the middle and lower <br />Pl atte River in Nebraska. Ice jams further aggravate spring flooding <br />upstream from the confluence of the Platte and Elkhorn Rivers in eastern <br />Nebraska into the lower end of the study area. <br /> <br />Rural flooding is also widespread in the Upper Platte. Flash floods <br />caused by summer thunderstorms occasionally flood agricultural lands and <br />damage irrigation systems on the eastern plains of Wyoming and Colorado. <br />The North Pl atte and South Pl atte Rivers and their tributaries are <br />subject to frequent spring floods which damage rural lands, farmsteads, <br />and utilities. <br /> <br />34 <br />