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. . telephone system, with single party service available, which was not a part of the picture when the Department of Interior first evaluated the Narrows. Aside from the disruption of quality of life, there mu~t be:a very considerable new cost allocated if the United Stat~s takes these new facil- ities and destroys them with the project. Since Interior withdrew a request fcr:funding for Narrows in 1978, the railroad track which ~oes through the area has been greatly upgraded at considerable expense to the railroad. Because of the potential for Narrows, nothing much had been done to the railroad for a number of years, but since it appeared that the pr~ject would be dropped, the roadbed, ties, rails, ballast iand all road crossings, both public and private, have bee~ upgraded with high grade installations. This taking would !constitute an additional expense of considerable magnitude ,which RLG is not acquainted W~~U but which has not been included in any government calculations of the costs of the project. The Basin Assessment should furnish documentation on"". where there is a need for water in the South Platte River Basin and where there is actually iwater available to meet any need. For this reason, we ar~ convinced that the Congress should do nothing with the Narrows Project until that study is available. RLG is furnishing this preliminary statement prior to the availability of the Basin Assessment for fear Congress might be misled into thinking it would be merely continuing funding for construction of a project which has already' begun and thus protecting ,assets already in existence. This fear of a misconception by Cqngress is aroused because public officials have been quoted jin the press so as to give an impression that construct~on has already started and was. simply interrupted during jthe Carter Administration. Construction on the Narrows has n.ver been started by any Administration. Nevertheless, we 'find these quotations from the Rocky Mountain News, which is published in Denver and claims the widest ,circulation 'of any newspaper in Colorado. On Thursday, March 26, 1981, on p~ge 6, quoted as testifying before House and Senate Appropriat:ions Subcommittees, "J. William McDonald, the Director of jthe Colorado,Water Conser- vation Board * * *'asked for * * · $400,000 to resume con- struction of the Narrows Dam * * ~," and on April 22, 1981, page 15, the same J. William McDonald said, "The Narrows Dam * * * was under construction dntil 1977, when it was halted along with other projects under Carter's 'hit list'." All RI.G can find which could !possibly be charged to "construction" is the purchase of !three small parcels of land in what could be the Narrows 'Reservoir and charged -14-