75 Water Assessment July 1973: Draft Plan of Study

• Description: This draft report lays out a plan for the 1975 Water Assessment Study. The purpose of this study was to "describe the Nation's 'severe' existing and emerging problems" related to water.
• State: CO
• Date: 7/1/1973
• Author: United States Water Resources Council
• Title: 75 Water Assessment July 1973: Draft Plan of Study
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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The total deficiency will be computed for each ASA by comparing
total requirements for each future condition (consumptive, plus export, plus
downstream release requirements) with current (1975) supplies. With-
drawal requirements will be compared with current supplies to indicate the
relative intensity of withdrawal use in each ASA.
Ratios of deficiencies by each user category compared with total
deficiencies for each ASA will be presented to show the effects of changes
in "priorities for the right of water use. It
The foregoing comparisons also will show how the water available
to a downstream ASA at a future time period (e. g. , 2000) is directly
dependent upon the total amount of increased consumptive use in all of
the upstream ASA's from 1975 to the selected future date. In addition,
these will show how the water available for consumptive use in both upstream
and downstream ASA Is is dependent upon how much water must be released
downstream from each ASA for both current (1975) and assumed future in-
stream requirement conditions (e. g. , fish and wildlife, compacts, naviga-
tion, etc. ).
The "priorities for rights of use" to be analyzed are discussed
in the following material in terms of a "central case, "'or baseline con-
dition, and alternatives to that central case. The central case will as-
sume the following:
o Currently existing (1975) compacts and other similar
legally binding contracts -- those controlling the transfer
of water between two geographical units (both downstream
releases and diverted exports) will be continued into the
future without modification and will have highest priority
for rights of use.
o Currently existing (1975) and additional future- condition
municipal and rural domestic use will have second and
third priority for the rights of use, respectively.
o Other existing (1975) and future - condition consumptive
and in- stream uses will be assigned lower priorities, as
dictated by the existing priorities for rights of use within
each geographic unit.