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<br />. <br /> <br />TUESDAY <br /> <br />) 892 <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />, <br />r <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />Few Snow Showers <br />High 40 <br /> <br />February 2, 1993 <br />.~ <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />DENVER PoST <br /> <br />Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire <br /> <br />Final Edition I 25 cents <br />3S cents in DesignatecLAreas <br /> <br />Dry Vegas bets on Colo. <br /> <br />West Slope reservoir would store water for Nevada <br /> <br />By Mark Obmascik <br />Denver Post Environment Writer <br />Two giant oil shale companies have <br />reached informal agreement to build a <br />major new-reservoir on the Western Slope <br />and then "lease the Colorado River water <br />downstream to Nevada, officials..said yes- <br />terday. <br />Chevron USA and Getty Oil Exploration <br />Co. want to pipe water from the Colorado <br />River near DeBeque and store it in a natu- <br />ral basin 3 miles uphill.on Roan Creek. <br />The $200 million project, to be financed <br />entirely by Nevada, would then lease. the <br />river flows. up to 50 years to help quench <br />the thirst of booming developme_ot around <br /> <br />Las Vegas, officials said. <br /> <br />'the project would supply 175,000 acre- <br />feet a year. By comparison, that's more <br />water, than the entire city of Denver now <br />. consumes in a year,- or enough'to accom-- <br />modate the annuaL water needs of 700,000 <br />people. . , <br /> <br />"We do have a gentleman's agreement,". <br />said Tom Cahill,. director---of the Colorado <br />River Commission_of-Nevada. "We think <br />this- is a project that will benefit both the <br />states of Nevada and Colorado. It would <br />give Nevada 'an interim water supply and <br />give Colorado increased stream flows in <br />times when the river is nmning low." <br /> <br />Project backers would pay Colorado $50 <br /> <br />for every acre~foot of water - about <br />~26,OOO gallons - delivered to Nevada. <br />That's $8.75 million a year. At the end of <br />the lease, the project water would revert <br />back to Chevron and Getty Oil for 'use in <br />'oil shale developm,ent. <br /> <br />Coiorado water officials are skeptical <br />about the plan. <br /> <br />. They. express fears that interstate leas~ <br />ing of Colorado River flows ultimately <br />could allow wealthy downstream water <br />users to buy up Colorado farmland for <br />valuable water rights, and prevent Colora~ <br />do from consuming all water the state is <br /> <br />Please see WATER on 10A <br /> <br />I <br />i <br />I <br />i <br />, <br />,I <br />I <br />! <br /> <br />The Denver Post { Bruce Gaut <br />