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<br />l\) <br />00 <br />0';) <br />w <br /> <br />6. miThehesbtimated mtondetbary hcost of mantiaglindg thle wastewaters which ~'.~...~.:',',i.'! <br />g t e genera e y t ese poten a ; eve opments. .~ <br /> <br />7. The social, economic, and environmental impacts which would <br />result from the development of water supplies for these poten- <br />tial developments (including impacts resulting from reductions <br />in the amount of water available to other water uses, both <br />consumptive and nonconsumptive). <br /> <br />OVERVIElf OF THE STUDY AREA <br /> <br />As defined by the U.S. Water Resources Council (WRC) , the Upper <br />Colorado River Region includes the Upper Colorado River Basin and the <br />Great Divide Basin, which is a closed basin in Wyoming.l Total drainage <br />area of the Region, which covers about 45 percent of the Colorado River <br />Basin, is 113,496 square miles (72,600,000 acres). The Region encompasses <br />portions of the States of Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. <br /> <br />The Region may be disaggregated into either political or physical <br />subdivisions. With respect to political subdivisions, this report will <br />refer to the multicounty "aggregated subareas" (ASAs) used in the WRC 1975 <br />Water Assessment (see fig. 2.1). <br /> <br />( U )The Region has also been divided into. "water accoun( ting units" ,i;,:.,.".~,',;,' <br />WA s which are coterminous with major river subbasins see fig. 2.2, - <br />which also shows those points used to represent the outflow points of each <br />WAU). <br /> <br />Finally, for the purposes of this l3(a) assessment, WAUs in the Region <br />have been further subdivided into "study subunits," denoted SSUs (see fig.. <br />2.3). <br /> <br />Characteristics'of the Natural Environment <br /> <br />The topography of the Region is characterized by mountains; plateaus, <br />and valley basins, with the mountains being located around the Region's <br />perimeter on the west, north, and east. Stream erosion has been the basic <br />geomorphic agent, although glaciers and wind have contributed to some .land <br />formation. <br /> <br />I. Throughout this report the terms Upper Colorado Rivet Region (Region) <br />and Upper Colorado River Basin (Basin or Upper Basin) are used interchange- <br />ably. While not identical areas, the difference in data that arise by specific- <br />ally including or excluding the Great Divide Basin are so small as to be insig~:~:{ <br />nificant. ' <br /> <br />xvi <br />