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<br />(:JlJ3~o <br /> <br />these reserves, besides their uncertain availability, hinge upon their gen- <br />erally poor quality and the high cost of pumping from great depths. None- <br />theless, deep ground water is seen as a possible source of water for in- <br />dustrial usage, energy development, and for slurry pipeline transportation. <br /> <br />Reservoir Management <br /> <br />Missouri River Mainstem Reservoirs--A system of large reservoirs <br />on the Missouri River was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 and <br />has now been completed (Figure 1). The six reservoirs in this system <br />(Fort Peck, lake Sararawea, lake Oahe, lake Sharpe, lake Francis Case, and <br />lewis and Clark lake) provide 74.7 million acre feet of storage and are <br />operated for flood control, navigation, hydropower production, and other <br />purposes, in addition to water supply. According to 1970 figures, the <br />average annual flow of the Missouri River at Sioux City, Iowa, below the <br />reservoir system, is 21,821,000 acre feet, while average annual depletions <br />above that point amount to 6.5 million acre feet (NGPRP Water Work Group, <br />1974).16 No current projections of increased water use would equal or ex- <br />ceed the quantity of water which could be made available from the six Mis- <br />souri River mainstem reservoirs, although any upstream withdrawals would <br />entail some costs in the form of reduced hydroelectric power generation and <br />shortening of the navigation seaSOn below Sioux City. If such withdrawals <br />were made directly from one or more of the mainstem reservoirs it would not <br />adversely affect fish and wildlife values upstream, although it would create <br />greater water level fluctuation in the reservoirs themselves. A further <br />consideration in delivering water from the Missouri River reservoirs would <br />be the cost of conveying water over long distances and of lifting it from <br />lower to higher elevations (Oahe, for example, is at 1,600 feet above sea <br />level). In addition to the economic cost which varies widely depending <br />upon the delivery location, political opposition may be expected as well <br />because most of this water was planned for irrigation use in the Dakotas. <br />Physically, however, up to 3 million additional acre feet could be drawn <br /> <br />;:::,',:':':::}'.i~:' ,:,::;.\.';:.~,;,,~:~ II <br /> <br />.. ' <br /> <br />. . .. <br />. '. . . <br />. ." . <br />:;:.;C;/:".:':...t}:;;,,~~,:,::::;}i.:i; <br /> <br />.'.: -' <br /> <br />- -. . <br />'. ":;;:. :..: ....' '. .:::- -~'.; .." . ....- <br /> <br />"I <br /> <br />23 <br />