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~ ,~--) CHAPTER II PROBLEMS AND NEEDS c"') (\1 of 8,000 to 9,400 acre-feet a year for each 250 million cubic-feet a day of capacity is expected. The source of this rate is the final environmental statement for the proposed WESCO Coal Gasification Plant in New Mexico (pp. 1-20 and 3-23). Prospects for development of the above plants are favorable. The Consolidation Coal Company is evaluating the possibility of developing a coal reserve in the Danforth Hills that can be utilized in a mine-mouth thermal power generation project or a coal gasification project. Either of these would require substantial quantities of water. Consolidation has expressed interest in obtaining 30,000 acre-feet of water a year from the Yellow Jacket Project. W.R. Grace and Company is currently planning an expansion of the old Mount Streeter Mine on the north side of the Danforth Hills near the com- munity of Axial. It is planning initially to ship the coal to markets outside the project area. Engineering studies are underway to extend a spur line of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad from Craig to the mine. The company has also indicated that future development may include mine-mouth usage such as thermal power generation or coal gasifi- cation. Preliminary discussions with the Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy District and the Bureau of Reclamation indicate the company's interest in obtaining up to 12,000 acre-feet of water a year from the Yellow Jacket Project. It should be assumed that all water supplies diverted for the above coal developments would be entirely depleted. The possibility of waste water from these plants returning to the main stream is very unlikely. The normal practice of operating thermal powerplants on a zero-discharge basis is expected to be the case for coal gasification also. Irrigation Existing ditches diverting from the White River provide a full irri- gation supply to the lands they serve on the flood plains and low terraces adjacent to the river. Lands lying above these ditches, however, are de- pendent on diversions from small tributaries, and the irrigation water is mostly limited to early spring runoff. Crop yields on presently irrigated land are severely limited by short water supplies. In the late summer, when flows have decreased, many fields do not have enough water for crop maturation or fall pasture maintenance. In the Milk Creek area, for ex- ample, water supply studies indicate an average shortage of 37 percent and in the Little Beaver Creek area about 64 percent. In order to remedy this situation, storage facilities are needed to regulate the streamflows and insure the availability of late summer irrigation water. Such regulation would enable the irrigators to conduct a more efficient operation, as well as achieve greater crop yields. 16