WSP02976

• File Number: 8271.300
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program - General Information and Publications-Reports
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 12/1/1979
• Title: An Economic Evaluation of the Salinity Impacts From Energy Development - The Case of the Upper Colorado River Basin
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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I, INTRODUCTION

Present national energy policies
em ph as ize reduc t ion of U. S. dependence on
imported energy through higher rates of
domestic production. Strong economic
incentives and rising energy prices will
stimulate through increased profitability
the development of domestic energy resources.
In the western states, the Upper Colorado
River Basin, with its vast deposits of coal,
oil, natural gas, uranium, tar sands, and oil
shale, is consequently faced with large-scale
development.

Water is required for development of
these energy reso~rces. It is necessary for
all aspects of energy production, including
mining, reclamation of mined lands, pro-
cessing, refining, conversion, and distri-
bution. In addition, water will be needed
for the associated growth of population,
commercial and service sectors, and for
the development of other industries in the
region. Thus, the increased production of
energy resources is expected to increase the
demand for water substantially.

Concern as to whether the needed water
will be available to sustain energy develop-
ment and associated economic activities has
stimulated a number of "water for energy"
studies for the western states. Studies to
date (U. S. Bureau of Reclamation 1974a,
Davis and Wood 1974, Utah Division of Water
Resources 1973, Federal Energy Administration
1974, U. S. Department of the Interior 1974,
U. S. water Resources Council 1974, and
Western States Water Council 1974) have taken
an inventory approach, itemizing proposed
energy projects and determining the availa-
bility of water to meet ,the estimated needs.
The general conclusion with regard to water
ava ilability in the Upper Colorado River
Basin (U. S. Department of the Interior 1974)
is, according to available data,

.. .the water supply exceeds
that which is presently being
utilized in the Basin. However
it is also apparent that the
supply is in turn exceeded by
the presently recognized rights
to utilize water which has been
granted by most of the states in
the Basin.

Therefore, the availability of water for
the production of energy and to supply the
needs of associated users will depend on the

ability of the energy industries and associ-
ated users to acquire the necessary water
rights through various transfer mechanisms.
Small quantities of water may be as yet
uncommitted and can be obtained through legal
appropriation procedures. Water that has
already been appropriated by others will have
to be purchased for energy uses. To the
extent that economic cons iderat ions govern
this transfer, the pUTchases will come from
existing uses where the marginal product of
water is relatively low.

Various institutional constraints may
shift the transfer to uses with higher
marginal products. For example, compli-
cations may arise in acquiring water held by
the federal government and native American
Tribes. Additional legal and institutional
constraints are found in interstate and
intrastate obligat ions, Upper-Lower Bas in
compacts, and U. S .-Mexican treaties. These
have to be regarded as social property rights
to which any reallocation schemes should
conform. The free market system, as a
vehicle to promote intersectoral mobility of
water under these institutional restraints,
promotes economic eff iciency if there are no
third-party effects.

However, the pattern of water allocation
may have an important third-party effect by
impacting water quality of the Colorado
River. Higher consumptive use of the
presently unutilized water upstream on the
one hand, can increase concentrations of
certain constituents through reduction
in streamflow and consequent dilution possi-
bilities. On the other hand, changes in the
water use, as well as wastewater management
of the users, may alter waste loading in the
river giving rise to water quality changes.

Salinity is recognized as one of the
major problems of the Colorado River.
Although salinity does not cause major damage
to water users in the Upper Colorado River
Basin, the high total dissolved solid (TDS)
levels in the river impose signif~cant
damages on the industrial, municipal, and
agricultural users in the Lower Basin.
Higher salinity levels in irrigation water
cause crop damage, reduction of soil pro-
ductivity, and increased demand for water for
leaching. In municipal and industrial uses,
salinity causes higher treatment costs, pipe
erosion and scaling, and greater use of
detergents and chemicals. The total damage