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<br />f' '.).3 ') n <br />U:..J 1_ t ~ " <br /> <br />_20- <br /> <br />respective rights and obligation~ of individual states above Lee Ferry, has <br />further eX.t.ended and complicated the work of the Upper Basin Engineering <br />Committee, The Rep'ort should present esti.mate~ of the contributions of each <br />state to the long-time average virgin flow' of the Colorado River at Lee <br />Ferry, together with similar information for a: period such as 1931-1940 <br />when streamflows for ten consecutive yeara were the lowest of record. <br /> <br />'" <br /> <br />4. Pasture Land Irrigation. The Repor~ estimateS' that, ultimately, <br />500,000 acre feet of water wiir-be-consumed annually by the irrigation for <br />pasture purpose a of 500,000 acres of land in the Upper Basin. This is in <br />addition to lands presently irrigated and to be served by so_called potential <br />projects listed in the Report. Colorado notes that, while this allowance <br />of'500,000 acre feet of water is included in the reported total ultimate <br />depletions upstream from Lee Ferry, the Report faila to describe the <br />required facilitiea and works, or to include> estimate,,: of their construction <br />costs. The Report also fails to segregate this assumed future consumption of <br />water among individual states, or to indioate the locatione of the assumed <br />pasture lands on the maps presented in Appendix II. More definite and <br />detailed information would facilitate both the plan~ for the development and <br />the pending negotietions among affected stateso Since the existing acreage <br />irrigated in the Upper Basin includes- hay-Iand.s from which the crops are <br />harvested at times and at other timeS' are used for the pasturing of livestock, <br />it appears that the assumed future pasture lands might similarly be classified <br />as irrigated lands, without attempting to distinguish between methodS' of <br />harvesting. The required worka and facilitiea might properly be included <br />with sc-called potential projects as construction possibilities, <br /> <br />(':, <br /> <br />1)' <br /> <br />5. Reservoirs above Lee Ferry. The so.called potential projecta <br />listed in the Report include a number of possible reservoirS' in the Upper <br />Basin above Lee Ferry, at sites along the Colorado, San Juan and Green <br />rivers, located generally below the lands irrigated in the Upper Basin. <br />Their purposeS' include power production, flood control, silt detention, <br />streamfloVl regulation, and hold-over storage. The Report p,"esents estimatea <br />of construction costs and power produotion for each reservoir, but fails to <br />disclose information as to the status of upstream development assumed for <br />purposes of estimating the power production. The tctal loss of water from <br />the whole group of reservoirS' is reported at 831,000 aore feet per year, <br />but the Report fai1~ to segregate the estimated total l:os.s among individual <br />reservoirs, or to explain the factorS' employed' in estimating th",. reservoir <br />losses. A comprehensive engineering investigation is required. inoluding <br />definite and detailed river and reservoir operation studies, the results of <br />which should appear in the Report, to the end, that construction coste and <br />water losse~ may be compared with project benefits, and to define the areas <br />and interests that would' benefit from operatiomr of the reservoire for their <br />various intended pUrposes. . <br /> <br />;::: <br />,\ ~ <br /> <br />1;' <br /> <br />The affected states above Lee Ferry need to know how far' development <br />oan proceed before any of the potential capacity of these reservoirS' will be <br />needed for holdover storage purposes~ They should be advised as to how much <br />