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<br />. <br /> <br />~ <br />~ <br />~ <br />~ <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />CONCLUSIONS AND MAJOR FINDINGS <br /> <br />The following general conclusions and major specific findings <br /> <br />were reached during the course of the water assessment. <br /> <br />General Conclusions <br /> <br />The production of synthetic fuels in the Upper Colorado River Region <br /> <br />by the extraction and processing of oil shale and/or coal, will require <br /> <br />significant quantities of water. A synfuels production level of 3 mil- <br /> <br />lion barrels per day (oil equivalent) would consume about 450,000 acre- <br /> <br />feet of water annually (150,000 acre-feet per year per million barrels <br /> <br />of daily capacity). <br /> <br />The overall supply of ground and surface water reSources in the <br /> <br />Region is sufficient to accommodate a synfuels production level of nearly <br /> <br />3 million barrels oil equivalent per day. This conclusion has been <br /> <br />reached in this report after consideration of present and probable future <br /> <br />levels of conventional water uses (e.g., irrigation, water exports) and <br /> <br />the several institutional arrangements that govern use and management of <br /> <br />the Region's water supplies. <br /> <br />While the gross water supplies in the Region are sufficient for <br /> <br />accelerated synfuels development, water supply problems are apparent in <br /> <br />some areas. Of particular concern is the White River Basin in Colorado <br /> <br />and Utah. This area contains the richest oil shale reserves in the Region. <br /> <br />1-1 <br />