BOARD02623

• Board Meeting Date: 8/1/1974
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

Why does the total consumption go up? Why doesn't the total
depletion of the river remain the same?

Mr. Sparks: The reason is that the consumption went up also because
of the need to utilize water for revegetation and to compact the shale I
residue. Originally, we had not computed those water requirements.
As I recall, about forty percent of the water diverted will be
required for compaction and revegetation.

Mr. Kilburn: It is only about 13 percent moisture in the processed
shale. But we would use about 30 or up to 40 percent of the water
diverted for both compaction and revegetation.

Mr. Sparks: The consumptive use therefore went up over what we had
originally computed. To boil it down to the basics, in the original
11 cfs diversion, we figured that 40 percent of that would return to
the river. Now none will return to the river. So our estimate went
up 40 percent immediately.

Mr. Kilburn: I don't know how responsive our figures are to other
technology either, because our residue is quite different from other
residues. Ours must be moist enough to lend itself to compaction.
Otherwise, it is a very dry material. So it must be moistened and
it does consume a considerable fraction, about thirty percent,
according to our latest figures.

Mr. Kroeger: Will we be seeing some of these vegetation plots and
the like tomorrow?

Mr. Kilburn: Unfortunately, speaking of water, we had a flood over
there the other day. It didn't rain at our semi-works site, but
it sure rained up on top of the plateau. About 6 feet of water came
down and washed out the road so that we shut off the tours at the
present time on the mine site. But yes, the main plots of vegetation
that are shown in the picture are outside of that flooded area.
Although the road did wash out in one place we have repaired it and
you can get to that.

Mr. Vandemoer: I hate to belabor it, but back to what Fred says and
I will ask Larry this. If what you say is true and you make total
use of this water, don't you foul up your water rights completely?
In other words, on the Platte River, if you use the water and you
have a man downstream that is depending on the return flow, history I
has it this way, and then you say we are not going to have that return
flow, then haven't you changed the whole system of the river? In
other words, that right that they have bought is worked on the
basis of half of it going back to the river. Now you say they are
going to keep it all.

Mr. Sparks: I think that very factor surprised some of the water
companies. The answer is that it requires them to purchase twice as
much water as they thought in order to get the same amount of

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