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<br />- <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />this "The Upper McCloud and Lower Pit River Aquifer Recharge Program", and the <br />intent would be to maintain and increase long-term hydrostatic pressure in the aquifers, <br />which supply sustained base flows that continue into and through California's frequent <br />dry years, Potential direct beneficiaries of a program in this basin include the 4 million <br />electric customers of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company, and the 32 million <br />citizens of California (McCloud-Pit Rivers are main tributaries that feed USBR's Lake <br />Shasta and this is one ofthe largest water supplies for agriculture and public uses in <br />California). Such a research program could potentially leverage financial resources and <br />technical expertise from PG&E, from the state of California, from the USBR, and from <br />Atmospheric Sciences departments at a number of universities in California, Nevada and <br />Oregon <br /> <br />A second candidate for the watershed study is the Walker Rivers catchment areas <br />of the Sierra Nevada. This would also be an excellent choice for such a watershed <br />experiment, having a catchment area of 1200 square miles at elevations above the <br />snowline of 6000 ft, They contain two principal rivers feeding substantial ranching and <br />farming activities, three townships, and terminating in a desert lake downstream of an <br />Indian reservation. <br /> <br />The McCloud-Pit and Walker watershed candidates are offered here as examples <br />and not as the final candidate list. Other suitable watersheds exist in western states, <br />including Utah, Colorado and Idaho, An ultimate selection would be determined based <br />on many factors, including proximity to nearby projects, that matrix toward achieving a <br />program of greatest value, <br /> <br />This review panel recommends that a "Watershed Experiment", fully randomized <br />and well equipped, be conducted in one of these regions of the mountainous, water- <br />threatened West, because it will benefit substantial segments of the community, including <br />Native Americans, urban water users, ranching, and farming communities, and recreation <br />interests. <br /> <br />22 <br />