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. . day of petroleum refining, 9,600 tons/ore day of uranium milling, and ~ 1,250 Megawatts of hydroelectric power.4 This level of energy develop- en ment would cause Colorado River Basin withdrawals in Colorado to go ty from the present 147,660 af/yr. to 278,001 af/yr., and consumption .....:I would increase from 5,228 af/yr. to 83,138. Energy water consumption predictions for Colorado which assume less return to streams go as high as 178,000' af/yr. by 1995. Other estimates include even greater deve1.,. opment of oil shale and synthetic fuels. Most of this energy develop- ment will take place in the Colorado River Basin portion of the state, Coal gasification plants and coal-fired electrical generating capacity projected for the entire Upper Basin could require 600,000 af/yr. of water without any other type of energy deve10pment.5 Out-of-basin exports to support the growing regional populations along Colorado's front range, and population centers in Utah, New Mexi- co, and Arizona, will continue to increase in this period. At the same time, in-basin populations will increase concomitant to energy develop- ment. Only by optimizing water use and reducing consumption wherever possible will the Upper Basin be able to consistently meet energy, agri- cultural, and M&I demand.6 During droughts, even these measures will be insufficient unless many new water storage facilities are constructed. Only by assuring optimal consumption of saline water will the River be, at the same time, protected from precipitous increases in salinity'- Background and Purpose of the Study Background. This study extends a longitudinal view of Colorado River salinity problems developed by earlier DRI studies on the River 4Mi11iken, Lohman, et a1" Water and Energy in Colorado's Fu- ture (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1981). 5 Israelson, et al., Use of Saline Water in Energy Development (Logan: Utah Water Research Laboratory, 1980), p. 1, 6During 1980, Exxon and other major energy industry firms have proposed a massive interbasin transfer of water from the upper midwest (e.g., Oahe Reservoir, South Dakota) to the oil shale region of western Colorado dad eastern Utah, to support oil shale production at the rate of 8 million barrels of oil per day. This alternative requires over- coming serious political, legal and environmental hurdles, besides the financial and engineering challenges. Exxon, "The Role of Synthetic Fuels in the United States Energy Future," 1980. [Copies available from Exxon Public Affairs Department, P.O. Box 2180, Houston, Texas, 77001. ] 5 , .