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THE RFrr.eMeTION ERA, August, 1963 1963 -FIRST PAYOFF ON THE CRSP The seed from Which the giant Colorado River Storage Project Would grout and blossom was planted 7 years ago. Development of this beautiful corrugated country captured the imaginations of all kinds of Americans both near and far. M_en's eyes sparkled at the thoughts-irri~,- tion_ of fertile virgin lands, electricity for new and esis ing nt r~ri . d silt.ing~ .r .A_ .ion in etnn_ ishin? scenerv, tourist potential to scenic wonders rarer yet beheld, and employment opportunities- all from water not now being used in the Upper Colorado River Basin and most of it wasting away to the sea. In 1956, the Congress passed the authorizing legislation. The brand plan for development of the Upper Colorado River Basin water was set in motion. Now in 1963, the reaping of the. first harvest of benefits are beginning. And. in the coming years, the benefits will a o~v in magnitude to equal or exceed the hopes and dreams of the most opti- mistic Upper Basin proponents. The first CRSF hydroelectric power will bo on the ]ine from the Flaming Gorge Powerplant. Boaters are flocking to reservoirs which have formed behind the storabe unit dams-Lake Powell (Glen Canyon Reservoir) on the Colorado River, Flaming Gorge Reservoir on the Green, and Navajo Lake on the San Juan. This year water will be delivered for irrigation use on four completed partici- pating Federal Reclamation projects with about 7,500 acres of nex land and 36,000 acres of supplemental land. In the coming years, the trickle of 1963 benefits will swell to a torrent. Growth in irrigation agriculture in the Basin will lay the cornerstone for stable growth in the intermountain west. Livestookpmduction centers on coor- dinating the use of the grazing lands of the Upper Basin and of the broad dryland plateaus with the livestock feed base produced on the irrigated lands. With the expansion of the irrigated lands, the livestock industry also can expand --to the benefit of the entire Nation. Other Imps raised will be deciduous fruits, sugar beets, and other cash crops not in surplus But equally important is that stable irrigation agriculture provides the core on which a more complex commercial and industrial development Will be built. In the process of diversified economic growth, the participating projects and other non~overnment development and use of Upper Basin Water will supply large quantities of water for municipal and industrial uses. POWER FOR RDGIONAL GROWTH Electric power needs will increase by ;_ leaps and bounds, as the- economy of .the intermountain west expands and diversi- fies. A sma]1 part of this demand will be met by the 3i3rdroeleetric power to be produc~l at the CRSP damn .ands: powerplants . From 1963 ~ 1967, most of the 1,300,000 dilowatts of CRSP installed capacity -~~wi1.l be fed into the Interconnected Transmission System. This system will be made up of about 2,000 miles of CRSP transmission lines (about 1,300 miles are pox completed or under construction) which will tie into 4,700 miles of adja- cent Federal system lines and intercon- nect with more than 7,200 miles of Pro- ference user and private utility lines. CRSP power output will go to more than 200 qualified preference user organiza- tions, as required by Federal Reclamation law, throughout the marketing area cover- ing the intermountain west. The full production of CRSP power will be taken by the preference users as rapidly as it comes on the line. But CRSF power will help only to meet preference user load ~~~ • Looking ahead to 1980, the total ins stalled capacity needed to meet all the anticipated electricpower needs i.n the intermountain west will approach 20 million kilowatts. At the present time, ° there are only about 5 million kilowatt _1Q -