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C"') ,~.) C~HAPTER II C\! PROBLEMS AND NEEDS The lessees at Federal Tract C-a, the Rio Blanco Oil Shale Project group, envision an ultimate production of 300,000 barrels a day. The above unit rates would indicate a water requirement of 40,000 to 60,000 acre-feet a year. The group has estimated an ultimate water requirement of 70,000 acre-feet a year and has expressed a desire to obtain as much of this amount as possible from the Yellow Jacket Project. At tract C-b, the lessees envision an ultimate production capacity of 100,000 barrels a day which would require 13,000 to 20,000 acre-feet of water annually. The lessees expect that most of the requirement would be self-supplied from local groundwater. To some extent this would de- crease local streamflows. The Superior Oil Company also expects to obtain from local ground water most of the 30,000 acre-feet a year that it estimates will be needed. The estimated water requirement would indicate an intended production capacity of 150,000 to 200,000 barrels a day. In addition to the companies now seriously considering oil-shale production at the three sites referred to above, it is likely that other developments would be made by the year 2000 at locations yet unknown. No attempt has been made in this study to quantify the water requirements associated with such future installations, but the probability of these additional requirements is recognized. Indications are that the majority of the water needs for production of oil shale will be used in the disposal of spent shale materials. Keep- ing this finely-ground rock well-watered is crucial if revegetation is to be successful. Water may also be required to some extent for dust con- trol, retorting, shale-oil upgrading, power requirements, and sanitary use. Oil shale uses are expected to be highly consumptive in nature, with little or no water returning to the streams. Coal The projected annual water requirement of 40,000 acre-feet for coal uses is based on a development schedule which assumes the following pJ.ants would be operating by the year 2000. I. At least one coal-fired electric powerplant of about 800- megawatt capacity. 2. One coal gasification plant with a capacity of about 250 million cubic feet a day. A unit rate of 15,000 acre-feet a year for each 1,000 megawatts of capacity is commonly used for water consumption at powerplants with wet cooling towers. One source, for example, is the Westwide Study, Depart- ment of the Interi,'r, 1975 (p. 79). For coal gasification, a unit rate 15