7409

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7409
• Author: U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Title: Quality of Water, Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1991.
• USFW - Doc Type: Progress Report No. 15,
• Copyright Material: NO

UPPER BASIN DEPLETIONS 41

interim agreement. For purposes of this report,
depletions are based on th~ previous Leland
Bench Development Plan. No construction
schedule is available, and it does not appear that
significant uses of water will be made by 1990.
Total ultimate depletions are estimated to be
about 45,000 acre-feet.

The Ute Indian Compact (yet to be ratified)
recognizes Indian rights to irrigate 12,845 acres
of Class 6 and 7 lands in the White River drain-
age and 4,068 acres of Class 7 lands along the
Green River, which would result in depletions of
approximately 30,000 and 9,000 acre-feet,
respectively. The State of Utah estimates that
the latter will materialize by about 2000.

It is estimated that about 1,500 acres of Indian
lands near the White River have come under
irrigation since the Comprehensive Framework
Study determinations. Depletion is about
4,000 acre-feet.

Division of Water Resources Projects

In August 1984 the Division of Water Resources
(DWR) of the State of Utah determined that
about 16,000 acre-feet of water would be
depleted in 1990 by DWR sponsored projects.
DWR estimates that depletions will increase to
28,000 acre-feet by 2020.

Emery County Powerplants

Both units of the Huntington Powerplant of
Utah Power & Light Company were in service in
1983. Water use records indicate that the
powerplant uses up to 12,000 acre-feet a year.
Two units of the Hunter Powerplant of Utah
Power & Light Company, located near
Castledale, were on line in 1983. Water use
records for this plant also indicate a maximum
annual use of about 12,000 acre-feet. One
additional unit began operation in March 1983.
Construction of the fourth unit has been
suspended indefinitely. It was assumed that
each unit will require 6,000 acre-feet a year.
These figures result in an estimated use of
30,000 acre-feet.

Water from these two powerplants is and will
come from (1) the purchase of8,OOO acre-feet of
Emery County Project water, (2) purchase of up
to 24,000 acre-feet of private irrigation water
rights, and (3) the development of 3,000 to
5,000 acre-feet of new water made possible by
construction of Electric Lake Dam. Water
surplus to powerplant needs is leased back to
the irrigation users.

Conversion of Irrigation to Power

Most of the water developed for the Emery
County powerplants comes from the purchase of
irrigation water rights. It is assumed that for
every thousand acre-feet of diversion rights
purchased and used by the power company,
irrigation consumptive use will decrease by
500 acre-feet. There are some reasons to believe
that irrigation use may not be declining by this
high rate. Additional data and analysis are
needed to refine these estimates.

It is estimated that 18,000 acre-feet of diversion
rights were used by the plants in 1987, which
translates into a 9,000 acre-feet decrease in
irrigation depletion.

Other Utah Power & Light Company
Powerplants

Utah Power & Light Company provided the
values shown. Locations of the new units will
depend on how the loads develop.

Deseret Generation a~d Transmission Co-op

Deseret Generation and Transmission Co-op
constructed a 400-MW unit east of Green River
near Bonanza, Utah. Commercial operation
began in 1984. Water depletion is estimated at
6,000 acre-feet with pumping from the Green
River. Unit 2, also 400 MW, is scheduled for
operation in 1995.

White River Dam

Evaporation from the White River Reservoir is
estimated to be 5,500 acre-feet, rounded to