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The Flureau of Reclamation, using a 1929 -1961 study period, <br />has estimated that the virgin flow for Beaver Creek amounts to an <br />average of 230300 acre feet per year. If the compact administrators <br />should agree with this computation, the allocation to Kansas could <br />be approximately 9,100 acre feet. This would still be 2,400 acre <br />feet less than the present Kansas uses plus the depletion resulting <br />from the proposed unit. <br />The report states that "use of water in Kansas in excess <br />of that State's allocation would, at a minimum, require permissive <br />interpretation of the compact provisions by the members of the <br />Republican River Compact administration. The necessity for actual <br />reopening of the compact in order to assure legal availability of <br />sufficient water for development of the unit would rest with the <br />compact administration. <br />The X%ansas and Nebraska compact administrators have been <br />contacted concerning the potential depletions b -r the unit. Both <br />administrators have declined to furnish official statements on <br />the matter until this report is available for their review. From <br />the discussions, however, it appears that an agreement within the <br />compact could be reached which would permit development of the <br />unit." <br />There is no provision in the compact relative to its <br />modification other than the one mentioned above which permits <br />increases or decreases in allocations proportional to water supply. <br />"article IX of the compact permits the officials admin- <br />istering the compact, by unanimous action, to adopt rules and <br />regulations consistent with the provisions of the compact. It does <br />not appear that this permission would include the power to change <br />the allocation to any state beyond that allocation which is <br />derived from water supply computations. <br />In that case, negotiations of a new compact would be <br />required to accommodate the construction of :lhe Nelson Buck unit <br />as proposed, The operation of the unit would result in major flood <br />control benefits. In addition, recreation and fish and wildlife <br />benefits would accrue due to holdover storage in the conservation <br />capacity of the reservoir. However, it does not seem logical to <br />me to attempt to arrive at a new compact for the benefit of a <br />reclamation project on which reservoir evaporation would amount to <br />a third more than depletion by the irrigated acreage, and would be <br />more than half of the total allocation to Kansas which might result <br />from a recomputation of the virgin water supply of Beaver Creek. <br />IRMC s mm <br />Memorandum -3- May 16, 1967 <br />