WSP11260

• File Number: 8407.500
• Description: Platte River Basin - River Basin General Publications - Missouri River
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 1/1/1975
• Author: William B Lord Et Al
• Title: Fish and Wildlife Implications of Upper Missouri Basin Water Allocation
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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on the fringes of the region: in the Denver area on the west, and along
the Omaha-lincoln-Sioux Falls-Fargo-Grand Forks axis on the east, with a
few small metropolitan areas in the interior (Figure 4). Thus urban water
use, although quantitatively overshadowed by irrigation on a regional
basis, is far more concentrated and may place extremely heavy demands upon
local water supplies. This is best illustrated by the Denver area, the
largest population concentration in the region, where agricultural water
rights have been steadily acquired for urban use, where existing water
supplies have long been fully appropriated, and where interbasin transfers
are looked to as the water source for future urban growth.

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Energy Development

Mininq--Mining of all types has been a minor user of water in the
Upper Missouri River Basin, as shown in Figure 2. Not only are withdrawals
relatively small, and are likely to continue so even given the rapid growth
rate projected in Figure 3, but only about a quarter of the water withdrawn
is consumed. Sand and gravel mining, because of its high volume relative
to other types, accounts for most of the mining withdrawals. However, un-
like other kinds of mining, sand and gravel water use is only about 5%
consumptive.
Coal mlnlng is of particular interest in the context of this re-
search assessment because it faces a rapidly expanding demand curve and
because copious coal supplies occur in the region (Figure 5). The poten-
tial for rapid industry expansion exists. Yet coal mining consumes little
water, from 0.25 to 0.61 gallons per million BTU (Arthur D. Little, Jnc..
1974).5 This is equivalent to 4.5 to 11.0 gallons of water per ton of coal
mined.

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Coal mlnlng in the Upper Missouri Basin could reasonably reach a
level of 400 million tons annually by 2000 (Northern Great Plains Resources
Program [NGPRP), 1975).6 Although the level of production could be much
lower or much higher than this, if this level were attained 7 to 14 thou-

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