Laserfiche WebLink
• <br />Consumptive Uses and Losses 9 <br />and future water supply for a growing population in a water -short area. As a result of <br />almost continuous studies concerning these problems, adequate production and effluent <br />records are usually available to adequately assess water use. <br />Transbasin Diversions <br />Nearly all the transbasin diversions both out of and into the Upper Colorado River Basin <br />were measured and reported by the Geological Survey, or local water commissioners and <br />users. The remainder were estimated on the basis of past records and capacity of <br />facilities. Due to the high degree of measurement, this area of basin consumptive use is <br />considered to be quite accurately determined. <br />BENEFICIAL CONSUMPTIVE USES AND LOSSES <br />A summary table of the Upper Colorado River Basin total annual water uses, 2001 through <br />2005, by states is shown on page iv. Water use within the selected reporting areas is <br />discussed below. <br />Upper Colorado River Basin Tributaries <br />Summaries of estimated annual consumptive uses and losses in the Upper Colorado River <br />Basin for each of the reporting years, broken down by State, reporting area, and type of <br />use are shown in tables UC -2` through UC -6. <br />Estimated main stem reservoir evaporation is shown in table UC -1. Technically, these are <br />not all maim stem reservoirs but are reservoirs that participate in the Colorado River <br />Storage Project (CRSP). The Upper Colorado River Commission designates which <br />reservoirs. in the CRSP have evaporation losses charged to the State and which have <br />losses charged to the basin as a whole. Reservoirs listed in table UC -1 are those to be <br />charged to the basin as a whole. These reservoir evaporation losses amount to about <br />11 percent of all Upper Basin losses. <br />Upper Basin consumptive use varied between 4.7 million and 3.8 million and averaged 4.2 <br />million acre-feet, per year for the reporting period, 2001 through 2004. Agricultural uses <br />accounted for about 67 percent of the total Upper Basin consumptive uses and losses. <br />Variation in consumptive use during the reporting period was largely due to year -to -year <br />changes in climatic conditions. <br />Transbasin exports, the second largest Upper Basin use, on the average accounted for 20 <br />percent of Upper Basin total use, showed year by year variation during the reporting period <br />ranging from a high of 913,700 acre -feet in 2001 to a low of 670,800 acre -feet in 2002. <br />Water uses for thermal electric power generation remained fairly constant, averaging about <br />166,900 acre -feet per year, which represents about 4 percent of consumptive use in the <br />Upper Basin. <br />