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<br />Y""i <br /> <br />:::.J <br /> <br />CHAPTER I <br /> <br />GENERAL DISCUSSIONS <br /> <br />M <br />N <br /> <br />Watson Project <br /> <br />The possibility of constructing a reservoir on the White River in <br />Utah is currently under consideration by the State of Utah, Uintah County <br />Water Conservancy District, the Ute Indian Tribe, and others. The dam <br />site, known as the Watson site, is near the east boundary of Federal oil <br />shale tract U-b in Utah, and the reservoir would extend upstream into <br />Colorado. <br /> <br />One of the major problems in developing reservoir storage on the <br />lower White River is the high sediment flow. About 75,000 acre-feet of <br />storage capacity would be needed at the Watson site for sediment accumu- <br />lation over a 50-vear period, or twice this capacity over a 100-year <br />period. <br /> <br />As a single-purpose project, a reservoir of 102,000 acre-feet would <br />provide a regulated annual supply of 36,000 acre-feet of water for oil- <br />shale processing at tracts U-a and U-b and for associated municipal use. <br />Water for industrial purposes would be released to the stream channel for <br />downstream diversion. A pumping plant would be required at the outlet <br />works of the dam to pump municipal water over a ridge to the Bonanza <br />town site about 3 miles from the dam. <br /> <br />As a multipurpose project, the Watson Reservoir could develop flows <br />of the White River for municipal and industrial use, irrigation of lands <br />on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservations, and a stream fishery. The <br />reservoir would have a total capacity of 525,000 acre-feet, of which <br />350,000 would be active capacity. Water for irrigation would be released <br />to the stream channel for diversion as needed at points downstream. <br /> <br />- I <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />13 <br />