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<br />o <br />CoA.) <br />N <br />tn <br /> <br />AUTHORIZED DEVELOPMENT <br /> <br />water supply of the Colorado River Basin by an estimated additional <br />113,000 acre-feet annually. <br /> <br />C. Economic Impact <br /> <br />The benefits created by the Colorado River Storage project are be- <br />coming a reality as the constructed facilities of the units and projects <br />are completed. Three of the four storage units and four of the 16 au- <br />thorized participating projects, plus the Vernal unit of the Central <br />Utah project, are essentially completed and operating. <br /> <br />In 1965 approximately 50,000 acres of land were irrigated wholly or <br />in part with water provided by four participating projects and the Vernal <br />unit. Crops produced on these projects were valued at an estimated $3.4 <br />million. Most important, farming operations were carried on without sig- <br />nificant water shortages. <br /> <br />Electric power is now being delivered under firm power contracts <br />from Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon units. The contracts (generally for <br />a 20-year duration) are with about 85 customers and provide for service <br />in an increasing amount to about 825 megawatts by the Summer of 1970. <br />Scheduled delivery for the Summer of 1966 totals 392 megawatts. The to- <br />tal power-producing capability of the CRSP, less reserves, is estimated <br />at 678 megawatts at the present time and 1,345 in 1977 upon completion <br />of all presently scheduled units. Total revenues from power operations <br />were about $0.5 million in fiscal year 1964 and $6.8 million in fiscal <br />year 1965 and $12.4 million in fiscal year 1966. <br /> <br />Stable water supplies created by the reservoirs of the CRSP have <br />contributed to the establishment of new industries and the planning of <br />industrial capacities to meet future needs. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation is presently negotiating contracts to <br />supply private industries with water essential for nearly 10 million <br />kilowatts of installed electric generating capacity planned for construc- <br />tion near Lake Powell and the Navajo Reservoir. Among the direct bene- <br />fits from a development of this magnitude would be about $1 billion in <br />at-site plant investment, around $20 million annual payroll, and substan- <br />tial payments for coal. Contracts to supply approximately 25,000 acre- <br />feet of CRSP water for other industrial uses are also under negotiation. <br />Approximately 1,600 acre-feet of municipal water is being supplied to <br />the city of Vernal, Utah, from the Vernal unit of the Central Utah proj- <br />ect. <br /> <br />About 600,000 people during 1965 visited CRSP unit and project res- <br />ervoirs for recreation. The Flaming Gorge Reservoir and Lake Powell <br />have already attained national reputation as recreation meccas. No dol- <br />lar values can be assigned to the esthetic value of recreation, but <br /> <br />16 <br /> <br />