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<br />5 <br /> <br />Several types of control of phreatophytes through chemical means <br /> <br />have been examined, among them herbicides, defoliants, and anti-transpirants. <br /> <br />Although the treatment of phreatorhytes by chemicals shows some initial <br /> <br />promise, there are some i'roblems associated with chemicals which have not <br /> <br />yet been solved, among them pollution of the nearby water and land. <br /> <br />Spraying on a regular basis is also necessary to maintain phreatophyte <br /> <br />control. <br /> <br />Combinations of various control techniques have been studied, includ- <br /> <br />ing the grazing of mowed areas. One particular example, hOYlever, illustrates <br />8 <br />~he problems of long-term phreatophyte control. In this case, the salt <br /> <br />cedar "as mmved to a height of 12 inches and the area was then subjected <br /> <br />to heavy grazing. By the second year after mowing, despite the heavy <br /> <br />grazing pressure, the salt cedar had regrown and become so dense that <br /> <br />cattle would no longer enter the area. <br /> <br />Assuming that a complete phreatophyte control program would be <br /> <br />possible, approximately 80,000 acre-feet of water might be salvaged in <br /> <br />the Arkansas Basin in the first year at an approximate clearing cost of <br /> <br />$2,000,000 to $4,000,000. This initial clearing cost would, by necessity, <br /> <br />have to be repeated regularly. The indirect costs would also have to <br /> <br />be considered. <br /> <br />A proposal made in 1968 by the Army Corps of Engineers to lessen the <br /> <br />amount of water lost to phreatophytes in the Arkansas River would have <br /> <br />\Vorked On a basis of denying the phreatophytes water. This \Vould have <br /> <br />been accompl ished by Im,ering the channel of the river. This plan has <br /> <br />met with considerable public resistance, even though it was claimed by the <br /> <br />Corps of Engineers that imple~entation of this plan \Vould have decreased <br /> <br />the loss of water to phreatophytes by 80 percent. <br /> <br />- - 1-' <br />