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direct flow rights provide for a gross diversion to take all water possi- ble during the high flow period with the understanding that there is in- adequate water to supply that amount during the rest of the year. Rights with junior priority may divert during a high runoff period and have little or no water at other times. Many users obtain supplemental junior rights and pyramid them in an attempt to cover the fluctuating water supply. The fact that there is presently unused water in the Basin does not necessarily mean that there is unappropriated water but, rather, that the water may not be available at the proper time or place to satisfy the existing rights or that there is inadequate storage capacity on the streams to properly manage the water supply. Whether there is available water at a given point for diversion depends upon the priority date, the senior priority rights, the flow for a given year, and the hydrologic condition of the source. In Colorado, water decrees are issued without regard to the availability of unappropriated water in the source. Outstanding valid, cQnditional decrees in Colorado, if all projects were constructed, together with present pyramided absolute decrees, could deplete Colorado's Upper Basin allotment many times over. In Utah, the projects covered by outstanding approved permits in the Basin, if constructed, could call for the diver- sion of about 1 m.a.f. of water in addition to present uses. There are unapproved applications On file for similar figures. This indicates a potential serious overcornmitment. However, a large number of applications may be speculative or duplicative filings, or may cover applications ~hich will not be developed because of a lack of water in the stream. Wyoming has several outstanding approved permits allowing construction of projects which have not yet been completed. Wyoming is currently considering several proposals to transport water from the Colorado River Basin for energy development elsewhere in the state. An exception occurs in New Mexico where the total of water rights is limited to the amount available with reasonable shortages. The mere statement of the amount of a state's unused allocati~n of Upper Basin water completely ignores the crucial problem facing an energy developer in attempting to obtain rights to take water from a stream. In most cases, a detailed, comprehensive study of water rights, water availability, and priorities must be made for the individual stream in question, taking into consideration the availa..... bility of water from storage reservoirs before a determination can be made that there is, in fact, water available for that site. The individual state water laws and priorities developed thereunder may require a modification of some of the figures contained in this report, and they must be used with that understanding. 27