BOARD01635

• Board Meeting Date: 3/26/1945
• Description: Table of Contents and Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Minutes

.:...u

I
!
I
'I
j,
"
il
'il
11
Ii
"I
;1,1
J
~ I
'(I
II
,
'i

,L~ ~
, ,

I',J
, 'i
I ~: ,
'I

Ii
;1
')il
, ,l,

cycle prior to the time when any of cthe waters were diverted, used or stored
Sinoe "virgin flows" are outflOW8" from the drainage basin, and since naturat"
losses are not considered in their calculations, the "virgin flow" quanti. :
ties, do not represent the streamflows originally created by natural precipi_':
tation over the drainage basin, or the streemflows produoed by the runoff.
from natural predpi tatiet'" '!Virgin flOl'tslt"~e necessarily less than the'
original streamflows by whatever 8Illounts of water are conslUllea by natural
processes of evaporation and transpiration, incident to its conveyance down_'
stream to thep:>int where outflows are measured and "virgin flows" are '
evaluated. Colorado says: that natural lossea should be taken into account, ."
and that infoTl!lati on concerning the ene,nt of natural losses under so-called
"virgin conditions" is necessary, and should be' added to the estimated
"virgin outflOW8", It in order to determine or eetimate the amounts of the orig_
inal streamflOW8" of the Coloradc River system. Colorado points out that So_
called "depletions" have been estimated and appear in the Report for so-
called "present conditions" and for those ~onditions whioh may prevail in
the future if am when all the potential projeots listed in the Report are
oonstructed; that such present and potential "depletions" are segregated by
basins and States; and that date conoerning the amounts and souroes of' the
original streamflow&' by basina an'd State a are neoessary to eanplete the Re-
port, and to prevent an ilioomplete Report 1'1'00\ being misleading to the
point of being unfair and adverse to the interests of the States of the Up-
per Division, and partioularly to the State of Colorado.

23. The Report, at page 19, saYIJ' "Under virgin oonditioos the River
was a growing stre8lll throughout its oourse until it reaohed the Blaok ClUl-
yon seotion (site of Bould er DIlJJl) below which' the':stre8ll\ was depleted,
except at times of great flood, by evaporation losses in the desert region;lt
and that virgin flows at various points have been estime.ted by the Bureau
of Reolamation, as: follows.

ESTIMATED F~ - VIRGIN CONDITIONS

Stream

'Average Amlual
Flow' (Aore~Feet)

Location

Green River
Colorado River
Colorado River
Li ttle Colorado
Virgin River
Colorado River
Gila River
Gila River

'5,903,000
7,289,000
16,271,000
338,000
310,000
16,451,000
1,271,000
2,282,000*

at mouth
above mouth of Green River
Lee Ferry
near the mouth
Littlefield
Laguna Dam
Dome
near Phbenix

* From text (page 19).

Direoting attention to the question of natural losses, the
amounts of' which are not shown in the Report, Colorado pointlll out that I