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<br />------'r <br /> <br />0012liG <br />. , <br /> <br />Attachment No.7 <br /> <br />UTILIZATION AND CONSERVATION OF WATER RESOURCES IN WYOMING <br />By: Floyd A. Bishop - Wyoming State Engineer <br />For presentation to the Western States Water Council <br />Phoenix, Arizona - February 19. 1966 <br /> <br />~c ~c ~~ )',c ':c ):c <br /> <br />Wyoming is a state of wide variation in the realm of water re- <br /> <br />sources. We have areas of shortage as well as areas of adequate supply and <br /> <br />those with surpluses. Predominantly we are an area of origin, with the headwaters <br /> <br />of three major drainages falling within our borders. The Green River, a major <br /> <br />tributary of the Colorado River, rises in the Wind River Mountains of western <br /> <br />Wyoming; the Snake River. a major tributary of the Columbia River, originates <br /> <br />in the Absaroka and Teton Ranges and in Yellowstone National Park in Northwestern <br /> <br />Wyoming: several of the major tributaries of the Missouri River, including the <br /> <br />'r"ellowstone, Powder, Little Missouri, Cheyenne, and Platte Rivers originate <br /> <br />primarily in Wyoming. Water flows from our state in all four directions, and we <br /> <br />contribute to the streamflows in all six of the states which border us. including <br /> <br />Utah, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado. <br /> <br />Only from Colorado <br /> <br />and Utah do we receive contributions to streamflows in Wyoming. <br /> <br />The eastern and southern part of Wyoming is predominantly plains <br /> <br />country with flat lands and rolling hills, traversed by stream channels, many of <br /> <br />which are intermittent in their flow characteristics. Much of this area is suitable <br /> <br />for irrigated agriculture but the streams in the area do not supply sufficient water <br /> <br />to ir r;gate more than a small percentage of the arable land, The notable exception <br /> <br />to this situation is the drainage of the North Platte River frequently called the most <br /> <br />effee...vdy controlled river in America. There are six major dams on the main <br /> <br />stem of the North Platte River in Wyoming, which is some three-hundred odd miles <br />