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<br />o <br />(""..) <br />~ <br />C':) <br />..... <br />w;:.. <br /> <br />vii <br /> <br />ABSTRACT <br /> <br />Management of a large river basin requires information regarding the <br /> <br />interactions of variables describing the system. A method has been <br /> <br />developed to determine these interactions so that the resources manage- <br /> <br />ment within a given river basin can proceed in an optimal way. The <br /> <br />method can be used as a planning tool to display how different manage- <br /> <br />ment alternatives affect the behavior of the river system. Direct <br /> <br />application is made to the Colorado River Basin. <br /> <br />The Colorado River has a relatively low and highly variable stream- <br /> <br />flow. Allocated rights to the consumptive use of the river water exceed <br /> <br />the present long-term average flow. The naturally high total dissolved <br /> <br />solids concentration of the river water continues to increase due to the <br /> <br />activities of man. Current management policies in the basin have been <br /> <br />the products of compromises between the seven states and two countries <br /> <br />which are traversed by the river or its tributaries. The anticipated <br /> <br />use of the scarce supply of water in the extraction and processing of <br /> <br />energy resources in the basin underwrites the need for planning tools <br /> <br />which can illuminate many possible management alternatives and their <br /> <br />effects upon water supply, water quality, power production, and the <br /> <br />other concerns of the Colorado River water users. <br /> <br />A computer simulation model has been developed and used .to simulate <br /> <br />the effects of various management alternatives upon water conservation, <br /> <br />water quality, and power production. The model generates synthetic <br /> <br />sequences of streamflows and total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations. <br /> <br />The flows of water and TDS are then routed through the major reservoirs <br /> <br />of the system, Lakes Powell and Mead. <br /> <br />