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<br />00\1154 <br /> <br />IV. AUGMENTATION Uf'llUNS <br /> <br />Five possible measures for augmenting the Colorado River have been identified: <br /> <br />- Importation from other river basins <br />- Desalting of seawater and geothermal brines <br />- Evaporation suppression <br />Vegetation management to increase runoff <br />_ Weather modification to increase snowpack and runoff <br /> <br />Investigations into the feasibility of these augmentation options have <br />resulted in the following conclusions: <br /> <br />A. Importation <br /> <br />Importation of water from other river basins to the Colorado River Basin <br />is not practical for the foreseeable future because of costs, energy <br />requirements, environmental impacts, and political realities. The <br />Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968 banned the Secretary from studies <br />of water importation into the Colorado River Basin from any other river <br />basin for a period of 10 years. That ban was extended for an additional <br />10 years, to September 30, 1988, by Public law 95-578 and expanded to cover <br />studies by any Federal official by Public law 96-375. <br /> <br />B. Desalinization <br /> <br />Investigations into the construction of a large-scale seawater desalting <br />plant have shown that high construction costs and the energy-intensive <br />nature of the desalting process make this alternative infeasible. Geo- <br />thermal studies undertaken by Reclamation have also concluded that the use <br />of brines for single-purpose water augmentation cannot be justified <br />economically. <br /> <br />C. Evaporation Suppression <br /> <br />Reclamation has conducted research on ways to reduce evaporation loss from <br />reservoirs. The project involved use of a fatty alcohol monolayer film to <br />cover water surfaces. The principal problem with this effort was the <br />effect of winds on the film. Researchers found that even low velocity <br />winds break up the film and moves it across the reservoir, thus reducing <br />its effectiveness. The program was discontinued after it was determined <br />that evaporation suppression would not be effective for the foreseeable <br />future. <br /> <br />D. Vegetation Management <br /> <br />The Forest Service has conducted long-range studies of vegetation manage- <br />ment on forest watersheds to increase runoff. The most effective manage- <br />ment measures for increasing water yield are clearcutting timberlands and <br />conversions from vegetation types such as chaparral to meadowlands. <br />The Bureau of land Management recently has announced a proposal for a <br />vegetation management pilot project to learn the water yield response to <br /> <br />11 <br />