Expert Report of D. Randolph Seahom and Exhibits

Home Browse Search

• 8 Consumptive Uses and Losses Stockpond Evaporation and Livestock Stockpond surface areas were estimated from the May 1975 Soil Conservation Service (SCS) publication, "Livestock Water Use." The subbasin stockpond areas were subdivided by State and basin using the livestock population distribution. The same procedure used to calculate the unmeasured reservoir evaporation was used to estimate the stockpond evaporation. Livestock population data was taken from annual State Agriculture Statistics and the 1997 and 2002 Census of Agriculture. Livestock population data included cattle, sheep, horses, and hogs. Consumption rates for the various livestock were derived from various reports, including the SCS publication, "Livestock Water Use," May 1975. Stockpond and livestock data are adequate to prepare an estimate of this consumptive use. Considering the small amount of water use, any refuting effort would be best spent on the irrigation or evaporation categories. Mineral Resources - The Upper Basin uses water in the production of numerous minerals in addition to energy - related materials such as oil and natural gas. Estimates of the water consumptively used were based largely on phone surveys conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1995 and 2000 that quantified water use in the basin. Estimates for 2001 -2005 were based on the trend in water consumption between 1995 and 2000. Thermal Electric Power The net use of water for the production of thermal electric energy from the tributaries of the Colorado River Basin was estimated from records obtained from the various power companies in the Basin. !These records were complete and were judged to be accurate. Municipal and Industrial The basis for estimating municipal and industrial uses was the urban and rural population within the reporting areas. , Preparation of annual population estimates was guided by the 2000 census and the growth rates between 1995 and 2000. Water supply withdrawal for urban, rural, commercial, industrial, and public uses were taken from data collected by the USGS and summarized in "Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 1995 ", USGS Circular 1200 and "Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2000 ", USGS Circular 1268. This information was reported by hydrologic unit, county and state for 1995 and by county and state for 2000. The population of the Upper Colorado River Basin, estimated at nearly 630 thousand in 1990, has increased to approximately 805 thousand in 2000. Twenty percent of the Upper Basin population was classified as rural with a significantly smaller per capita use of water. Both the urban and rural areas have the mutual problem of providing an adequate current