Laserfiche WebLink
<br />1- <br />~ <br />~ <br />'" <br /> <br />(a) complete replacement of all Mylar bag <br />heat exchangers. The new material <br />will be 5 mil thickness instead of the <br />present 3 mil. <br />(b) Redesign and replacement of the <br />plastic spacers with a soft elastomer to <br />avoid abrasion and cutting. <br />All the peripheral subsystems (water <br />treatment softeners, pumps, controls, etc,) <br />were also reported to be satisfactory. No <br />corrosion, fouling, or scaling problems were <br />noted. <br />It is difficult to draw any specific, technical <br />conclusions because of the limited time of <br />BCT operation. There is no assurance that <br />this design will satisfy all requirements for a <br />saline water cooling tower, therefore, other <br />alternatives or designs will be considered as <br />well as the verification/demonstration <br />program at Hunter Powerplant. <br /> <br />Grand Valley <br /> <br />The draft plan formulation working <br />document identified a best plan which would <br />reduce salinity concentration at Imperial <br />Dam by 15.0 mg/L and result in an overall <br />cost~ffectiveness of $585,000 per mg/L. <br />Increments 1 through 13 basically included <br />concrete or membrane lining all laterals in <br />the valley related to the Govemment Highline <br />Canal and concrete lining the west end of the <br />Govemment Highline Canal. Increments 14 <br />and 15 include concrete lining the east end <br />and middle portion of the Govemment <br />Highline Canal. <br />This plan (15 increments) will comprise the <br />best plan on Which a supplement to the <br />Definite Plan Report and an environmental <br />statement will be prepared, Increments 1 <br />through 13 will be an initial phase for <br />immediate construction. The remaining two <br />increments will be a future phase and <br />deferred until they become more competitive <br />with other salinity control opportunities in the <br />Basin. <br />Other increments with a still less favorable <br />cost~ffectiveness would not be included in <br />the best plan Or in the environmental <br />statement at this time, However, they could <br />be studied at some future time when <br />implementation of the basin-wide program <br />may make them competitive with other <br />salinity control opportunities. <br /> <br />Preliminary Evaluation <br /> <br />The Water Quality Office recently <br />completed a preliminary evaluation of the <br />ongoing salinity control and related <br />programs in the Colorado River Basin. The <br />analysis compared the effects of the salinity <br />program and the proposed Colorado River <br />Enhanced Snowpack Test (CREST) on the <br />salinity level of the Colorado River. <br />It was apparent that ultimately, with full <br />basin development, most of the salinity <br />program elements need to be in place and <br />functioning, including a water augmentation <br />program similar to CREST, if the salinity <br />concentration is to be maintained below 879 <br />mg/L at Imperial Dam. Over the long term, <br />the cloud seeding program would have an <br />approximate effect of a 100 mg/L reduction <br />in the salinity concentrations at Imperial <br />Dam. <br />The Commissioner's office is concerned <br />about the high cost of the full program and its <br />impact on the total Reclamation planning <br />budget. An analysis of various funding levels <br />of plan formulation/advance planning <br />funding was made, also. The concept of the <br />two-stage planning process is to save time <br />and to be effective; however, additional <br />funding demands are placed on the General <br />Investigation (GI) budget. Advance planning <br />activities are started earlier in the process; <br />consequently, a portion of the funds that <br />historically came from the construction <br />budget, following authorization, are now <br />being programmed as part of the GI budget. <br />There are three ways of addressing this <br />additional demand on the GI budget. One is <br />to reduce and stretch out the GI program by <br />balancing the currently available and <br />anticipated funds into plan formulation and <br />advance planning activities. Another is to <br />move additional funds from other portions of <br />the overall Reclamation budget into the GI <br />account to provide the added funds to take <br />care of the advance planning activities. (With <br />all regions competing for additional advance <br />planning funds, not all programs will receive <br />funds.) The third 'is to seek additional funds <br />through the Congressional process to carry <br />out an expedited planning and construction <br />process utilizing the two-stage process. <br />The February 1983 Annual Report of the <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control <br />Advisory Council recommendation for the <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />i <br /> <br />FY 1984 budget was about $13 million for <br />plan formulation and advance planning <br />funding, recognizing the additional funding <br />needs. In preparation of the Reclamation <br />budget, we also recognized the need for <br />additional advance planning funds. However, <br />it soon became clear that the impact of <br />additional advance planning funds for the <br />entire GI program required a reevaluation of <br />all aspects of the planning program. <br />(Reclamation's FY 1984 budget for salinity <br />control plan formulation and advance <br />planning funding is limited to $5,940,000.) <br />Reclamation is discussing the various <br />options for continuing the salinity control <br />planning program, including full funding, <br />with members of the Colorado River Basin <br />Salinity Control Forum. Under any funding <br />level, Reclamation will continue its close <br />working relationship and program <br />coordination activities with the Department <br />of Agriculture and other agencies as in the <br />past. <br /> <br />Las Vegas Wash <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation's Las Vegas <br />Wash Advanced Water Quality Study will <br />describe current water quality conditions in <br />Las Vegas Wash and will assess probable <br />water quality related impacts associated with <br />proposed altematives for the Las Vegas <br />Wash salinity control unit. <br />The purpose of the study is to determine <br />the existence, extent, and mechanisms of <br />nutrient and toxin stripping in Las Vegas <br />Wash under present conditions and under <br />future conditions both with and without <br />construction of the salinity control unit. <br />Field sampling will be conducted between <br />February and September 1983. The final <br />study report will be due by December 15, <br />1983, <br /> <br />USDA Report Available <br /> <br />The 1982 USDA Annual Report on the <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project <br />is now available through Edgar H. Nelson, <br />USDA Salinity Control Liaison Officer, Room <br />5226, PO Box 2890, Washington, D,C. 20250, <br />