4000

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 4000
• Author: U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Title: Report on Water For Energy in the Upper Colorado River Basin.
• USFW Year: 1974.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

Coal Fired Electric Oil Shale Coal Gasification
State Generation Plant Project Plants
Wyoming 4 1 1
Colorado 5 7
Utah 6 3 1
New Mexico 2 2
Arizona 1
Total 18 11 4

In addition to energy uses there are many additional water uses which
must be considered and planned for. These include municipal and other
industrial, agricultural, and environmental water needs. Future
municipal supplies, consisting mostly of exports from the Basin, are
estimated at 750,000 acre-feet annually by year 2000. Future agricul-
tural uses, consisting primarily of irrigation, are estimated at
800,000 acre-feet annually by year 2000. This amount, however could
change significantly especially in the States of Colorado and Utah
through reallocation or through the economics of the market place
whereby agricultural water could be purchased and reassigned to
other purposes through the normal State water rights processes.
Future water needs for environmental purposes such as fish and wild-
life, recreation, water quality, and esthetics, although more
difficult to assess and assign, are nevertheless important. As
much as an additional l50,000 acre-feet attributable to these purposes
could be required for consumptive uses alone, with another uncertain
amount necessary for minimum instream flows in critical stream reaches.

Should projected water requirements occur as itemized above the total
depletions in relation to water supply in year 2000 would be essentially
as shown on Figure 3. The individual State depletions and supplies
as of 2000 are presented on Figures 4 through 7. Under this set of
projections there could be significant shortages occurring in all
States except Wyoming by year 2000.

The above picture, however, is not expected to be representative of
actual conditions in the future. There are several changes starting
to occur in the water development field which cannot be accurately
projected but which will have a significant impact on future water
availability and requirements. Four of these are firm enough to
rate definite consideration at this time. They are:

1. Air cooling in lieu of water cooling is being considered for
some plant designs today. As water supplies become more expensive
and difficult to obtain, air cooling will be utilized to an

62