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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I "t..,()~ro U J:'~') J;J is therefore in the best interest of the industry to determine a water plan which would adequately serve the industry and at the same time have the minimum impact on the local and regional environment. As the lead-time for planning and implementing such a joint project is probably a minimum of eight to nine years, planning of such a project should be undertaken immediately. The purpose of this Report is to develop the objectives of such a comprehensive water plan along with preliminary concepts of the physical works required in the plan. To accomplish this purpose it is first necessary to investigate the requirements of the plan and maximize the benefits of the existing water resource without regard to legol restraints including ownership, appropriation dates and diversion points of existing undeveloped industrial water rights. As one water official has stated, there are many good potential water use projects in the Colorado River Basinhaving junior water rights and a great many undeveloped conditional decrees having better priorities; and in some fashion, the two wi II be brought together to satisfy the most urgent demands of the time. Oil Shale Water Requirement The water requirement to produce a barrel of shale oil varies with the type of conversion. The minimum requirement is associated with the modified in-situ processes proposed on the C-a and C-b Tracts and a larger requirement is estimated for a process in which the oil shale is mined underground and then processed on the surface. Water requirements for the TO sca II process consisting of underground mining and surface processing have been studie:l (a) for a site in Colorado and are used in this Report. The results of the studies of the TaSCa II process show that the water requirement for a 50,000 barrel per day plant operating at a 90 percent load factor has a water requirement of 6,480 acre feet per year. The ultimate size of the oil shale industry in the White River Basin is not presently known. The water requirement for various production values using the TaSCa" process is shown 'on the following page: (a) Gold, H., et ai, April, 1977, Water Requirements for Steam-Electric Power Generation and Synthetic Fuel Plants in the Western United States: Water Puri fi cation Associates. -2- C ;!