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<br /> <br />CREST <br /> <br />COLORADO RIVER ENHANCED SNDWPACK TEST <br /> <br />CREST IN PE~SPECT!VE <br /> <br />The Colorado River is a source of <br />water to over ~alf the population of <br />eleven Western States. It is quite <br />possibly .the most "managed" river in <br />the world. Presently the Colorado <br />River and its tributaries are <br />controlled by a system of dams and <br />reservoirs which store approximately <br />60 million acre-feet of water, <br />produce 12 billion kilowatts of <br />hydroelectric power annually, and <br />provide irrigation water for <br />thousands of acres of cropland. <br /> <br />The demands placed on the Colorado <br />River are diverse and intense. Even <br />with improved management of the river <br />and the growing emphasis on <br />conservation, demand for water will <br />eventually exceed its availability. <br />While the amount of water in the <br />Colorado remains constant, the <br />requirements of an expanding <br />population are increasing. Water is <br /> <br />needed for industrial growth, <br />irrigation, hydroelectric power <br />generation, development of energy <br />reserves, wildlife habitat, and <br />environmental and recreational uses. <br />The increased demand is accompanied <br />by additional problems of increased <br />salinity levels and other water <br />quality problems created in large <br />measure by man's use and reuse of the <br />water. <br /> <br />Present trends indicate that water <br />shortages wi 11 begi n to occ~r perhaps <br />as early as the year 2000, and grow <br />increasingly more severe thereafter. <br />In the not-to-distant future, demands <br />may exceed natural flow in the <br />Colorado River by several million <br />acre-feet per year. <br /> <br />Quite simply put, the Colorado River <br />needs more water. CREST, (the <br />Colorado River Enhanced Snowpack <br />Test), has the potential of meeting <br />that need. <br />